


i followed (you) the brightest star

by thebeehive



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Wolves, And they lived, Archery, Baker!Harry, Blood, Happyily Ever After, Hunting, M/M, Minor Character Death, OT5 Friendship (One Direction), Quest, Snow, Violence, Winter, hunter!Liam, hunter!Louis, storyteller!Niall, time frame is also vague but set in the distant past, vaguely set in the far north, vaguely tribal, whatever that means, wolf!zayn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-01-04 18:27:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21202094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebeehive/pseuds/thebeehive
Summary: When Liam was a boy, he gets lost in the woods on a cold, snowy night.A small wolf  finds him under a tree, shivering and nearly frozen.The wolf curls up next to him, providing warmth in the frigid chill.Liam survives and is found by his family.The wolf follows him home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Due to long hours/switching jobs/stress, I had a combination of lack of time and writers block the last month or two, leaving my poor WIPs to languish. Made myself sit down and write this in hopes the stress/writers block would be somewhat alleviated by a “no pressure” fic.
> 
> Title from (and inspired by the lyric video) All I Want (for Christmas) by Liam Payne.  
(Side note: I love seeing parenthesis in song titles, anything to make them longer/add double meaning makes my extra heart happy).
> 
> The nursery rhyme “The North Wind Doth Blow” is about a robin, I changed it for this story.

Liam shivered again. 

Unlike the first several shivers, this one rattled his teeth, knocking them together and creating an echo effect in his ears. He felt like his very skull was shivering under his hair, he was so cold. 

The longer he was outside, the more the cold began to seep deep into his bones. He looked up, up past the tall fir trees, stark naked in their winter glory, to the dark streak of sky. No stars were visible, as the sky was fast clouding over. He wondered if snow would begin to fall. As if the forest was listening, the first soft flakes landed on his face, just a whisper of sensation until they turned wet and froze into hard drops. He wiped them off, hissing at the sting since they had froze so quickly, and pulled his fur lined hood farther down his forehead, trying to stay as covered as possible. 

He was beginning to feel the onset of panic. He had been separated from his family and tribe for hours, and the sun had set. He bit his lip hard, willing the tears not to come. He was twelve now, practically a man, and besides, it was so cold that if he cried the tears would freeze in their tracks as they ran down his face. 

The morning had started off crips and cold and bright. The ground had not been seen in over a month now, the thick snow a permanent fixture for this time of year. It was the first time Liam joined the hunters on their quest for a wooly mammoth, as one had been spotted not far from their village, and Liam had been deemed old enough to join in the hunt. His small quiver of arrows was still slung across his back, his bow securely attached to the top of the leather strap that looped over his shoulder and across his chest, ready for action at a moment’s notice. Liam wanted to carry a spear, but only the strongest of the hunters carried spears on a mammoth hunt, everyone else was equipped with a bow and arrow. His older sister was to receive a spear soon, which would be given to her by their father in a special ceremony in the village square, and Liam tried not to be jealous, but he couldn’t wait for the day when he would hopefully be worthy and strong enough to wield a spear of his own. 

Liam had followed along with the rest of the hunters, his father and sister Ruth among them, and had been very excited; by late afternoon, he was no longer excited, but bored and restless and cold. The party walked non-stop, with nary a single sighting of any mammoth. Liam was beginning to question his decision to become a hunter. It seemed like a natural fit - he was very fast for his age, and his stamina was great, perfect for long hunts tracking animals, whether across snowy ground or in the warmth of summer in the vast forest their small village was nestled against. 

He was not tired, but rather, his enthusiasm had dampened in the cold and his attention span was fast wandering. He trailed behind the hunting group and looked up at the sky, tracking the path of a lone bird flying high over head, when he suddenly tumbled to the ground.

“Oof” his mouth was full of snow, and he pushed himself to his knees, spitting out the cold wet snow and brushing off his coat. He made sure his quiver and bow were fine (they were) and he stood up, glaring at the tree root peeking out of the snow on the ground that had been the cause of his fall. 

He looked back up to the sky but the bird was gone. He realized he was hungry, and dug in his pocket for the wrapped jerky his mother had given him when they set off that morning. He unwrapped a small piece and took a bite, looking around the small clearing he found himself in. It was so quiet. The woods, the trees, the snow and the sky were hushed, like a soft blanket had settled over the world. That’s when Liam realized he couldn’t hear the voices of the hunters. 

He started walking. They couldn’t be too far ahead, he reasoned; they had been in front of him not a couple minutes before. 

That had been hours ago. Now it was dark, and the panic was rising, no matter how calm Liam tried to stay. He had thrown caution to the wind, and yelled for his father and Ruth until his voice was hoarse, despite the fact that he had been taught all of his life to not call out in the woods, for who knows what type of creature would come to investigate the noise.

It had been to no avail - all his yelling had merely rendered his throat sore, and no creatures, welcome or otherwise, had happened upon him. Liam hadn’t seen so much as a foot or boot print - he didn’t understand how he hadn’t been found. Surely the party must have noticed he was missing and begun a search? Unless something happened to them? Liam had heard tales of rival villages on the other side of the woods; but the woods were so large that conflict had not been seen for at least a generation, and he had grown up with nothing but the security of his village and the occasional lone hunter, or a small group of hunters, passing through. 

The snow began to fall more quickly, and Liam knew he would have to find shelter of some kind if he was to survive the night. He continued to walk, but there were no rock outcroppings, or caves, or other villages, or people, only silent tree after silent tree, and the snow fell and fell, relentless and swift. A nursery rhyme his mother used to recite to him, when he was very small, came into his mind, unbidden:

The north wind doth blow,  
And we shall have snow,  
And what will little wolf do then?  
Poor thing.

He'll bury himself in snow,  
And keep himself warm,  
And hide his head under his paws,  
Poor thing.

Liam recited the lines to himself, and stopped walking. He chose the biggest tree he could see in front of him; the snow, now a blizzard of white swirling right in front of his eyes, made seeing difficult. The tree was very tall with a thick trunk, it would have to do.

He bent over, and began scooping up snow as fast as he could, pushing it into a pile against the base of the tree. He wanted to have the tree at his back so he would not be completely exposed to the wild creatures of the woods, as well as the elements, and he needed to make the pile of snow as tall as he could.

It was not fast going; his limbs were stiff from the cold, and even with his fur-lined gloves on, his hands felt numb from plunging them repeatedly into the snow. His teeth started chattering again, and he remembered his father warning him that shivering, while not good, meant he could still feel things - it was when the shivering stopped that the dangers of losing fingers and toes, followed by eventually freezing to death, would settle in.

He continued to force himself to move, using his gloved hands to scoop up the snow, and place it on top of the growing pile against his chosen tree, and then gently press it down so the snow would be lightly packed in. He was in the middle of scooping, blinking against the thick flakes stuck to his lashes, when he felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle, and it had nothing to do with the cold. Hunters intuition, his sister had explained. A true hunter would know when an animal or person was sneaking up behind them, no matter how stealthy their tread; the best hunters, Ruth had explained, were gifted with this extra sense. 

Liam slowly stood to his full height, and in between an inhale and an exhale he spun around and grabbed his bow from its strap, drawing an arrow from his quiver and setting it in place, ready to release if needed. Every muscle was tense and his senses were on high alert. He was still shivering, but he carefully scanned the surrounding area, as much as he could through the curtain of white whipping around him. The snow had picked up speed, and the cruel north wind along with it. Shooting straight and true with the snow and wind would be nigh impossible, but Liam knew he would have no choice.

Squinting, he saw nothing but trees and snow. He slowly looked around again; the back of his neck tingled, and then he felt, rather than saw, a presence under the shadow of a tree on his left side. He tightened the grip on his bow, and waited for what was to come from the shadows.

What stepped forward was not the predator Liam was expecting - instead of a giant bear or fierce saber tooth tiger, a wolf, as white as the snow under its paws, stepped forward out of the shadows. The wolf was bigger than a cub, but not fully grown yet, and even through the raging snow, Liam couldn’t miss the swirling hazel of the wolf’s eyes, bright against the stark fur.

His hand once again tightened his grip on the bow; wolves didn’t usually seek out people as prey, but their power, strength, and length of their teeth were not to be taken lightly. The wolf stepped forward again, and Liam felt his elbow tense, ready to release his arrow and draw another one if necessary. 

The wolf, however, did not step forward again, but instead tilted its head to the side, and observed him for a moment, before abruptly sitting down on its haunches. It then lowered its head until it rested on its paws, and watched him. Liam was startled - was the wolf going to spring upon him at any moment, catching him unaware, or was it merely observing him? That didn’t make sense, it was a wild creature. 

Liam shivered again, and tried to flex his toes in his boots, but he could barely feel them. The temperature was rapidly dropping, night was well upon him, and the woods would get colder. He desperately needed to finish building his snow shelter and burrow in if he had any hopes of making it through the night, but he couldn’t turn his back on the wolf. He glanced quickly at his tree with the snow pile, then glanced back at the wolf. 

“Are you…” Liam said out loud. He had caught the wolf scooting forward, paws and stomach still on the ground, head raised up and hazel eyes on him. The wolf stopped when Liam spoke; he was very close now. He started to scoot forward again, and Liam felt rooted to the ground, unable to flee, but he held fast to his bow and arrow, arms beginning to shake from the strain and cold. The wolf kept moving until his paws bumped up against the toe of Liam’s boots. Then the wolf reached out and tapped a paw on his boot. Liam blinked. Was he imagining - no, no, the wolf then reached forward with his other paw and tapped gently on his other boot. Then he looked up at Liam, and tilted his head to the side again.

Liam had grown up hearing tales of the creatures of the woods, and while he knew of the swift grey wolves that howled at the moon and tried to snatch and eat the sheep and goats the villagers kept, he had never heard of a white wolf who liked to tap on boots. Maybe it was a wild dog that only looked like a wolf? Liam studied the wolf, and he had the strangest feeling the wolf was studying him back. No, he thought. There was no mistaking this creature for a dog - the snout, the ears, the tail; the sheer size of the thing, while small for a wolf and looking not fully grown, would still have been quite large for a dog. 

The wolf gave Liam another tap, drawing his attention back. Liam, against his better judgement, slowly lowered his bow and arrow, but didn’t put them away yet. The wolf was now looking at the small snow heap that he had piled next to the tree. With one last tap to his right boot, the wolf stood up to its full height. He jumped back and re-set his arrow, but the wolf only looked at him, giving a small huff, and shook its head, walking past him to stand next to the heap, and then, to his amazement, the wolf began to dig next to the snow pile.

Liam watched as snow flew as the wolf furiously dug, going at a pace he would never have been able to achieve. The wolf also dug much deeper than he would have been able to. He slowly put the arrow into the quiver on his back, and attached his bow back to the strap, and stood there, shivering and stomping his feet to try and regain some feeling. 

By the time the wolf finished digging and turned around, Liam stopped shivering as a pleasant numbness started to spread throughout his body. How could he no longer feel the cold? He felt tired and dizzy, and wanted to sit down. In a haze, he saw the wolf come towards him and open it’s wide mouth, full of sharp, sharp teeth right over his arm. He wanted to react, but everything was moving so slow. The wolf bit down, but Liam didn’t feel anything, until the wolf dragged him forward by his arm, towards the large hole he had made on the side and under the snow heap. The wolf let go of his arm, and then walked behind him and used his head to push him down into the hole. He stumbled and fell forward, landing on his side. He couldn’t move, every limb felt heavy and his vision started to go in and out. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was the white wolf crouching down and crawling into the hole next to him, and then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are life!! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Liam opened his eyes and saw nothing but white. 

He turned his head to the side. A wall of white. He turned to his other side, and tried not to yell or startle. Pressed right up against his side was a large pile of white fur. Liam blinked, and the pile moved, and a head, a wolf’s head, turned. Hazel eyes stared back. And then before he could react, the wolf shoved his nose into Liam’s hair and sniffed.

“Ah, hey, hey.” Liam croaked. His throat was dry. He felt thirsty and hungry, and remembered the previous night. He was fully dressed and still wore his boots and gloves; he cautiously tried to flex his fingers and toes, and much to his relief he could feel everything move. He looked down at his arm, where he had hazy memories of the wolf biting him. There was a snag on the arm of his jacket, where maybe one of the wolf’s teeth had caught, but it did not appear as if the wolf had bitten him, there were no punctures in his jacket. Huh. He took a deep breath, and could smell the wolf next to him: the creature smelled musky and like the woods. 

The wolf sniffed his ear, and its cold wet nose tickled unpleasantly. “Stop, that, c’mon now.”

The wolf pulled back, lips moving to form a snarl. This close, Liam could see the slobber, the shiny sharp incisors, and the hint of pink tongue poking through its teeth. He started to panic, but had nowhere to go, buried under who knows how much snow, when the wolf opened its mouth and loudly sneezed. Right in Liam’s face. It was wet and rather disgusting. The wolf looked so startled, blinking its eyes and looking at his face, now covered in slobber, that he wanted to giggle. Hours ago he was on the verge of freezing to death, alone in the woods and separated from his tribe, and now the wolf that had saved his life had sneezed in his face.

Liam felt like he was in a fable.

He wiped off his face with his jacket sleeve, and tried to stretch his limbs in their snowy fortress; he looked up, wondering how much snow had continued to fall after he had passed out. How long had he been asleep for? The wolf was now sniffing his pocket that held the jerky and making eager snuffling noises. 

“Hold on a moment, I got it.” Liam felt silly talking to a wolf, but it’s not like there was anyone else nearby who would judge him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the remainder of the wrapped jerky. He cautiously held out his hand and offered a piece to the wolf, somehow trusting that if the animal had stayed by his side all night without an eating attempt, he was probably safe to feed it. The wolf leaned forward, and opened its mouth, just enough to gently grip the end of the jerky piece, before pulling back and chewing, surprisingly delicate for a wolf, Liam thought. He started chewing on the other piece of jerky himself, and contemplated how he could possibly find, or stumble across, he supposed, the hunting party in the vast woods. 

“Well, I’m certainly not going to find them if I stay here all day, yeah?” The wolf swallowed the jerky and looked expectantly at Liam. “Sorry, two pieces were all I had left. Do you think we can get out of here?”

The wolf tilted its head to the side, then reached forward a paw and placed it against the middle of his chest. Liam didn’t understand his lack of fear in front of the predator, but he knew he could trust the wolf - not just because the wolf had stayed the night with him and kept him warm enough to stay alive, but something in those hazel eyes called to him. The wolf was not an enemy, of that he was certain. 

The wolf removed its paw, and then raised its head, looking at the roof made of snow that hung over them, then the wolf turned to the side and started digging, causing snow to fly every which way, including into Liam’s face.

He turned over so the snow wasn’t spraying into his face, and he didn’t have to wait long before he heard a short yip.

He rolled back over and saw the wolf had dug through to the surface; bright light shone through the hole the wolf had created, and Liam could see the long trunks of the tall trees of the woods. With a wag of its tail, the wolf crouched down and leapt out, then turned around and yipped again.

“I’m coming!” With much effort and still very much stiff from spending the night buried in a snowbank, Liam crawled out through the gap and was once again surrounded by trees. 

It looked like it had snowed throughout the night, as snow sat piled high in drifts caused by the wind, even deep in the woods, and the branches of the trees hung heavy, weighted down by more snow.

The wolf turned in a circle. It almost looked like it was chasing its tail. Liam smiled, studying the wolf again. It was lean, as wolves this far north in the winter tended to be, and it looked like it was in that awkward stage, grown out of being a cub, but not yet an adult. It’s limbs looked lanky and more awkward than powerful, but it’s coat shone bright, even against all the snow, and its hazel eyes were sharp and flashing.

“What direction do you think?” 

The wolf stopped turning around, and tilted its head. It let out a small yip, then pointed its nose into the woods, in the opposite direction of their temporary snow shelter, and walked forward. Liam shrugged, not having a better idea, and followed the wolf. 

With the thick blanket of fresh snow that had covered the old snow already on the ground, the woods were even more silent than usual in winter. Liam couldn’t even hear the wolf walking ahead of him; the sound of its footfalls were swallowed up by the soft powder. Every once in a while the wolf would turn, as if to check that Liam was still following behind him, although, he thought, surely the wolf could smell him, if not hear him. Maybe the wolf needed the assurance of a visual confirmation as well.

After several hours of walking, Liam could feel his stomach start to clench. He should have been back at the village last night, having a dinner of hearty stew, and then breakfast this morning, but he had nothing but the jerky to sustain him since yesterday afternoon, and all the walking was not helping. The wolf turned around, just as Liam’s stomach loudly grumbled. 

“Did you hear that, too?” The wolf tilted its head, as if listening; it was such a human-like gesture that Liam couldn’t help but smile. “Bit hungry like, nothing we can do ‘bout it right now I suppose. What I wouldn’t give for some stew.”

The wolf paced forward until it stood right in front of Liam; the head of the wolf came up to the middle of his stomach, he couldn’t imagine how big the wolf would be when fully grown. It reached out with its right paw and tapped his boot - and suddenly images from the previous night came back - Liam standing there with his bow and arrow at the ready, while the wolf had slunk forward until it had been able to reach out and tap at each of his boots. 

“What does that mean?” Liam wondered out loud, watching the wolf tap first one boot, then reach out with its other paw and tap his other boot. Before he could ask more questions, the wolf bounded away, kicking up snow, and ran full speed ahead into the woods, leaving Liam standing alone.

He couldn’t believe the wolf had left him alone in the woods. He shook himself - it was a wild thing, for goodness sakes! The creature was not beholden to him in any way, just as he had no hold upon the wolf. Just because some animal instinct had caused it to keep him warm through the night, didn’t mean anything. And here he was, following the wolf through the woods like a fool; as if the wolf knew where the hunting party was and how to guide him - what a ridiculous notion. And yet. Liam thought about the wolf tapping his boots last night, and then just now, almost as if… the wolf was showing Liam he could be trusted. But that made even less sense. It was just a wolf.

Liam leaned against the nearest tree. He needed to catch his bearings. He needed to save his strength. He needed to come up with a plan to find his way back to the village, no matter how hopelessly lost he was at the moment. Before he could work himself into a full panic, the white wolf came bounding back through the trees, holding something in its mouth. It came to a stop in front of him, and dropped the item at his feet, and stepped back. If such a creature could look proud, then the look on the wolf’s face right now was definitely one of pride, Liam thought.

He bent down to look - a dead rabbit was laid at his feet. Had the wolf hunted for him? Because he was hungry? But how would it know? How could it think of Liam like that? And yet. 

“Thank you. Uh.” Liam felt stupid, but really, at this point, the wolf was his only company. “This was so nice of you. I can’t eat it, I’m sorry.”

The wolf tilted its head, and let out a soft yip, and then nudged the rabbit closer to Liam with a paw. As if to say, it’s all for you, Liam thought, a bit hysterically. He didn’t want to hurt the wolf’s feelings, and really, the fact that he was thinking about hurting a wolf’s feelings! The cold must have affected his mind, it was the only explanation, was he imagining the wolf itself? Could the cold cause one to hallucinate?

“I can eat rabbit, yeah? I just can’t eat it raw. I have to eat meat cooked, or I’ll get sick.” Liam pointed to the rabbit on the ground, and then pointed to his stomach, and pantomimed retching. The wolf stepped closer and put its nose against Liam’s stomach, which, as if on queue, made a loud grumbling noise. The wolf stepped back and let out a low whine.

“I know, I know. I’m hungry. I wish I could eat the rabbit! But there is no fire, I have nothing to cook the meat with.” Liam looked down at the rabbit at his feet. Like the wolf, the rabbit was lean, as were most animals by this time in winter. If only he had a way to cook it though; rabbit meat would have been heavenly. He knew that if he was starving, he would have no choice but to eat the meat raw, but hopefully he would be found, or find the hunters, before it got that point. He nudged the rabbit back towards the wolf with his boot. The wolf whined again, but tilted his head, and promptly bent down and started devouring pieces of the rabbit. Liam looked away, not so much out of politeness as it was a rather messy thing to watch.

“I can’t keep calling you the wolf, you know.” Liam looked back to see the wolf had finished eating the rabbit, and was burying the remains in the snow. “I want to give you a name. But I want you to like it? How does Snowflake sound?”

The wolf stopped burying the rabbit to look up and snarl, letting out a low growl, before going back to covering up the rabbit and wiping its bloody mouth in the snow.

“Alright then, something more fierce - how about I call you Lightening?”

The wolf finished wiping its mouth and looked up at Liam, letting out another low growl, then walked over and butted its head into Liam’s stomach, none too gently. Liam took a step back. 

“No need for that, what name do YOU want to go by then?” He was joking, knowing the wolf wouldn’t answer, but much to his surprise the wolf let out a short yip and walked over to an undisturbed patch of snow, then reached out a paw and began to draw into the snow.

Liam walked up besides the wolf, careful not to disturb the pattern in the snow the wolf was making. When finished, the wolf stepped back and sat down on its haunches and looked at Liam expectantly.  
The wolf had dug letters into the snow - it was messy but Liam was able to make out the letters:

ZAYN

He didn’t know what that meant. Was it supposed to be a name?

“Zayn? Is your name Zayn?” And Liam decided he might have frozen to death in the snow last night, or he was still asleep and this was all a dream, which was the only thing that made sense.

The wolf let out a full bark, then leapt up to its feet, and ran in a circle several times, after its tail, before coming to a full stop. It’s tongue lolled out of its mouth and its tail wagged, and Liam didn’t know what to think.

“Ok, well, Zayn it is.” Liam had an idea. “Zayn, are you magic?”

Zayn tilted his head and let out a yip. 

“I know. If you are, draw a ‘Y’ in the snow for yes, or an ‘N’ in the snow for no, yeah?”

Zayn reached a slim paw forward, but all he drew was a line in the snow. He looked up at Liam and let out a mournful whine. He tried with his other paw, but all he was able to produce was another line in the snow. Maybe his ability to write only went so far as his name?

“Hey, its ok. Let’s try something else. One bark for yes, two for no, how does that sound?”

Zayn stopped trying to draw in the snow with his paws, and turned to look at Liam. He barked once. 

Liam clapped his hands with delight, he couldn’t help it. Here was a wolf, that had saved his life and that could understand him. 

“Ok, are you magic Zayn?”

Zayn barked twice, for no, then ducked his head down. 

“Hmm. How is that possible? You have to be magic? Or, you have to be the smartest animal in the woods.”

At that, Zayn lifted his head, barked once, and then chased his tail for a minute, belying his previous response. He looked adorable, and completely harmless, like one of the dogs the village used to guard the sheep and goats when they were taken out to pasture to graze. Liam scolded himself - those dogs were guarding the herds from animals like Zayn. Yet surely, there had to be something magical, or special, about a wolf that could communicate with a person?

“Do you know where the hunters are? The people I was with? My father and sister were among them, you know. They have to be worried about me, right?” Liam found that talking out loud about his fears, while it didn’t make them go away, did alleviate his feelings of being left alone in th woods somewhat.

Zayn lifted his head into the air, his furry neck stretched upwards and wet nose pointed at the sky, and sniffed the air for a long moment. Then, he let out a long, full howl, causing the hair on Liam’s arms to stand on end, and a shiver run down his spine. The howl was loud and mournful and seemed to echo throughout the snowy woods. When he finished, he tilted his head to the side, as if listening for something. Another wolf, Liam wondered, or was he listening for something else entirely. 

He turned to Liam and let you two short barks. No then. Zayn didn’t know where the hunting group was. He sighed. It had been too much to hope for, really, but he had been caught up in the excitement of finding out Zayn not only had a name, but could understand him, and it seemed for a minute that all miracles were possible. 

“Thanks for trying.” Liam looked around. There was no point in staying in one place; the woods were too big to be found, and the heavy snow fall of the previous night would have covered up all tracks. May as well start walking and make some new tracks, he thought, and hopefully the hunting party would do the same thing. 

“Lead the way.” And Liam walked behind Zayn, watching the wolf’s tail wave behind him like a flag, a beacon to follow after through the lonely woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are life!! :)


	3. Chapter 3

It was nightfall in the woods again. This time there was no snowfall, but the temperature was rapidly dropping. Liam had eaten nothing all day, other than the occasional handful of snow to stay hydrated. He was worried that another day like this and he would be asking Zayn to kill another rabbit; raw or not he would have to eat something soon. There weren't any leaves or grass to eat either, it was going to be a choice between stripped bark from the trees or raw meat, if Zayn was able to hunt and find something. With no food in his system, Liam felt himself get chilled quicker than the previous night. He had been quiet throughout the long walk of the day, needing to conserve his energy, although he burned to ask Zayn questions. 

Zayn seemed to sense his exhaustion, as he stopped in front of a large tree that already had a huge snow drift piled against it. He turned back to Liam, tilting his head and giving a small, reassuring yip, before he turned around and started digging into the side of the drift at a furious pace. Liam wanted to help, but he knew he would simply be in the way and slow the wolf down, so he found a nearby tree to lean against, and closed his eyes. 

The next thing he felt was something bumping into his leg. He opened his eyes to see Zayn nudging against him. Their shelter for the night was ready. He stumbled over to the hole in the snowdrift, and crawled in curling up with his legs drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Zayn crawled in after him, and Liam could feel the warmth of the wolf slowly seep through his jacket, until he no longer felt frozen, and while he gently thawed out he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

Liam again woke up to a wall of white. This time, he remembered where he was, and then who he was with. Sometime in the night he had moved around until his head and neck were resting on top of the furry white wolf that shared his snow shelter.

He found he didn’t really mind the smell of the wolf, as Zayn didn’t smell dirty, exactly, but more like a musky dog smell, only a bit stronger and more wild. Liam could feel the rise and fall of of sleeping wolf underneath him, and he heard a low whining sound. He wondered if Zayn was dreaming - did he dream of chasing rabbits and the forest? Or did he dream of other wolves? 

He realized he had yet to touch the wolf himself - Zayn had been the one to initiate all contact thus far. Liam hadn’t taken his gloves off since the hunting trip had started - even when he relieved himself in the woods he had kept his gloves on, as his fingers would be the first appendages to freeze if left uncovered. He slowly pulled off the glove from his right hand, the cold made his fingers sting, and then he cautiously reached forward to feel Zayn’s fur - ever since he’d first laid eyes on the wolf he was curious to know what the thick white fur would feel like - the fur was much softer than he thought, and he ran his fingers through the coat, feeling the dense undercoat underneath the longer, finer top coat. It somehow felt taboo - yes, Zayn was a wolf, but a clever one at that - Liam felt like he should be asking permission. Too late, he felt movement underneath his hand, and Zayn lifted his head to look right at Liam. 

He stopped moving his hand, and removed it from the wolf’s back. Zayn’s hazel eyes watched him closely, and then, with a loud snort, he rolled onto his back, baring his stomach to Liam and waving his paws in the air while he shook his head and made snuffling noises. Liam started giggling.

“You know, you’re not very dignified for a wolf.” He leaned over the wolf, hesitating. “Can I?” he asked, hovering over Zayn’s underbelly. Zayn gave a short, single bark, and stopped moving. 

Liam made scritching motions on his stomach with his uncovered hand. The fur on Zayn’s belly was less dense and even softer then the fur on his back. He must have been pleased by the attention, as one of his hind legs started pawing the air, causing Liam to giggle again.

“You’re just a big puppy, aren’t you Zayn?” The wolf barked twice in a row sharply, but that only caused Liam to giggle harder. “Deny it all you want, you’re adorable.” 

Zayn was wiggling again, twisting his torso back and forth while Liam continued to scritch, when suddenly the wolf flipped over and jumped out of their snow shelter. 

“Did you see a rabbit?” Liam wondered after the wolf, even though Zayn couldn’t hear him. He guessed it was time to get up anyway. He struggled to climb out of the snow drift, feeling weak from the lack of food and endless walking of the past couple of days. He was not looking forward to discovering if bark was edible, or if he would get sick from eating raw meat.

Standing up, he looked around and saw nothing but the same endless stretch of trees he’d been walking through; he could hear Zayn loudly barking - what was the wolf doing? If he was hunting, he would surely scare away the small creatures of the woods with his loud noises. Zayn then came bounding back from the trees, and jumped excitedly around Liam. 

“Zayn, what’s going on?” Before he could get an answer there was movement in the nearby trees, and then his father came running into view, followed closely by Ruth.

“Father!” Liam cried out; never before had he been so relieved to see his family - but the happy reunion was short lived.

“Liam watch out!” His father’s voice was loud in the woods, echoing through the trees. 

“Liam, get out of the way!” Ruth yelled, and Liam was shocked to see her bow and arrow drawn, pointed towards Zayn, who was behind Liam, whining loudly. 

“No, don’t shoot!” Liam was horrified to see his father had his spear raised as well, as if he was about to throw it. Without thinking, he knelt down and threw his arms around Zayn, who buried his wet nose in Liam’s neck, eliciting horrified shouts from his father and sister.

“No, no, he saved my life, Zayn’s not dangerous.”

To Liam’s relief, Ruth put the arrow back in her quiver, but his father did not lower his spear. 

“We heard barking, and followed the noise, but we didn't think -uh, whose Zayn?” his sister asked.

“This is Zayn. The wolf.” Liam thought it was obvious, really. 

His father’s voice was gentle. “Liam, why don’t you tell us what happened since we last saw you?”

Liam briefly recounted everything that happened since he had been separated from the group, not letting go of Zayn the entire time, for fear his father or sister would change their mind and deem his friend a threat. And he realized then, that he did consider Zayn a friend, as strange as that may seem, a boy having a wolf as a friend. He did not view Zayn as he would a dog, like a pet; in his mind the wolf was an equal, like a friend.

Without consciously realizing it, he left out the boot tapping and Zayn spelling his name in the snow and the yes/no barking system the two had developed. He did leave in the parts about Zayn digging their snow shelters, keeping him warm through the cold nights, and the rabbit hunting, though, as those were too good to leave out. Liam’s father raised his eyebrows, and Ruth looked at Zayn in disbelief.

When Liam was finished, his father asked a question.

“Why do you call him Zayn? And where did you hear that name?”

“Um, he seemed to like the name? And I think I heard one of the visiting traders say it.” Liam lied. 

Ruth knelt down next to Liam to get a better view of the wolf. Zayn finally removed his nose from where he had hidden it in Liam’s neck; Ruth slowly reached her gloved hand out towards the wolf. Zayn stretched his neck and out and slowly sniffed her hand, then he let out a loud snuffle and put his nose back against Liam’s neck. His nose was still cold and it tickled, but Liam didn’t mind. 

“Well, it’s clear who his favorite is. Liam, I’m so glad we found you, I didn’t think - “ Ruth’s voice broke, and Liam finally let go of Zayn to reach forward and embrace his sister. A moment later, they were both enveloped in the strong arms of his father.

“Son, thank the gods you are alive, let’s get you home,” his father’s muffled voice was still loud enough for Liam to hear. He was safe and with his family, and he had never felt so lucky. He was going home.


	4. Chapter 4

Going home was easier said than done.

They were to return to the makeshift camp the hunting party had set up to make searching for Liam easier. It was towards the middle of the woods, and the hunting group had spread out in a circle formation from the camp, to cover more ground to search. It was a full days journey from the camp back to their village, so they were to return to the camp with Liam, spend the night, and journey back to the village the next day after a full night of rest. Many of the hunters had barely slept since Liam had been discovered missing. Liam expressed his guilt, but his father had waved him off. 

“They’ll be plenty of time for anger later, right now they’ll just be happy you’re alive son.”

The difficult part was what to do about the white wolf. Liam wanted Zayn to come with them. Zayn seemed happy to oblige. Ruth seemed indifferent. His father, on the other hand, was adamantly against it. 

“Look, son. We are all grateful that the wolf -”

“Zayn. His name is Zayn.” Liam was being stubborn, he knew, and he didn’t want to come across as ungrateful to his father and the hunting party for their search efforts, but it was imperative that the wolf be called Zayn and that he come back to the village with them. As to WHY it mattered so much, he didn't know. He just knew he couldn't be separated from Zayn right now.

Liam had already whispered in Zayn’s ear, “Do you want to see my village?”

And the wolf had softly yipped once, for yes. The matter was settled, Liam thought.

“Uh, alright. We are grateful that Zayn kept you warm-”

“Kept Liam alive, really,” Ruth interjected.

“Enough!” Liam could tell his father was losing patience. “The fact of the matter is, you can’t have a wolf in the village. It's not safe.”

Liam was affronted. “Zayn would never attack a person.”

Zayn softly yipped once in agreement.

Liam's arms were back around Zayn, as he knelt in the snow next to his new friend, and he was giving his father his best pleading face, which he was way too old to give, of course, but he had to get his point across. 

“Even if that be the case, you can’t trust a wolf around the herds Liam, you know that.”

His father crossed his arms in front of his chest. Liam considered crying, as he wasn’t that far off from it anyway, between the hunger and exhaustion and emotion from his ordeal. And the thought of never seeing Zayn again, was enough to send him over the edge. Tears started running down his face.

“Father, please. Please. I will take full responsibility for him. I promise, he will behave, and the minute he does anything bad, he’ll be gone, promise.”

Zayn started to whine in protest, and Liam turned and whispered in his ear, “Hold on, just go with it this next part, yeah? I don’t really mean it.”

He turned back to his father, who watched him with an odd expression on his face. “It will be like having a dog, promise. Father please?”

Zayn turned his head and tried to lick the tears off Liam’s face. His breath was hot and his tongue was wet and the entire sensation was rather off-putting, but Liam let him. He had to show his father that Zayn was harmless.

His father sighed, uncrossed his arms, and rubbed his forehead. “Fine, fine. But you’ll have a hell of a time explaining this to the rest of the hunters. Not to mention your mother.”

Mumbling curses, his father turned and started walking towards the hunters' camp. Liam stood up and followed, Zayn by his side. Ruth came up to his other side, and handed him a package of bread and goat cheese.

“You must be starving.”

Liam loved his sister. “Yeah, yeah.” He was already shoving the food into his mouth.

“Slow down, we’ll feed you proper when we reach the camp, yeah? Only you would make friends with a wolf in the woods, really Liam.” 

“Zayn. His name is Zayn.” Liam said through a mouthful of bread. He remembered to tear off a large chunk of the bread and a piece of cheese, and offered it to Zayn, who once again delicately took it from Liam’s hand before chewing. 

“Alright, Zayn it is,” Ruth agreed. “Since he saved your life and all.”

Zayn finished chewing and barked once in agreement. Liam tried not to giggle.

Ruth slung her arm around his neck. “C’mon, you’ll have some explaining to do once we get to camp.”

His sister had walked ahead to announce to the hunters at the camp that Liam had been found, and that he was right behind her with their father, as to be expected, as well as a wolf, which would of course NOT be expected. 

Liam and his father had waited several minutes a short distance from the camp, giving Ruth enough time to explain everything, and so that Zayn would not be attacked with arrows and spears the moment he was spotted by the hunters. Liam nervously chewed on the thumb of his glove while Zayn, sitting on his haunches next to him, gently nudged his side. Liam bent down, and raised an eyebrow in question when he held his gloved hand out. Zayn leaned forward and nudged Liam’s hand with his snout, and Liam took off his glove and started scratching behind his ears, causing the wolf’s long, fluffy tail to thump on the ground, sending little puffs of snow into the chilly air. 

Liam was startled in his petting ministrations by the loud, clarion call of their tribes hunting horn. Usually, the horn was blown when a large prey, such as a woolly mammoth or saber tooth tiger, was finally caught and killed. In this case, it was being sounded to let the hunters know they could return to the camp, as Liam had been found. The horn was an ancient thing, carved with old symbols that no one could decipher, and handed down from generation to generation many a time; blowing it was no light matter. Liam felt touched and a bit guilty that the horn was being used to signal his return. 

Zayn reacted to the sound of the horn, too, by throwing back his head and starting to howl - Liam realized what he was doing just as his jaw opened, and, without thinking, he reached forward and clamped the wolf’s jaw shut. Zayn turned and started growling, and Liam hastily let go and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Zayn, you have to be on best behavior, yeah? You can’t be doing anything too wolf like, understood?” Liam realized he was asking a wolf to not act like a wolf; he could only hope Zayn understood.

Zayn yipped twice, and Liam rolled his eyes. “I know, I know, it’s stupid. But if you wanna come back to the village with me you got to behave more like a dog than a wolf.”

Zayn lightly growled, but yipped once in understanding, then pushed his head against Liam’s hand, and he resumed scratching behind his ears.

“Son, do you talk to him?”

Liam had forgotten his father was there. He tried not to flush in embarrassment.

“Uh, kinda? I mean, yes. Got in the habit, I suppose, with no one else to talk to in the woods.”

His father studied Zayn closely. “If I didn’t know better, I would say it’s like he understands you. When you put your hand over his jaw, nearly stopped by heart in shock - I’ve never, never seen a wild creature obey someone like that. It’s quiet extraordinary-”

Luckily, Liam thought, his sister had good timing. Ruth stepped out of the trees and waved them on. “C’mon. They know about Zayn here.” 

Zayn wagged his tail upon hearing his name, and Liam scratched his ears one last time. “How did they take it?”

Ruth shook her head. “About as well as you’d expect.”

Explaining the appearance of Zayn to the hunting party was not any easier than convincing his father Zayn could come with them. 

The rest of the hunting group, predictably, were not pleased with the idea of Zayn returning to the village with them. They had waited until the rest of the hunting party trickled back to camp in twos and threes, which took hours. In the meantime, Liam was sat by a large fire and fed a copious amount of food (he kept sharing it with Zayn, much to Ruth’s exasperation, but she continued to bring him more food, so he knew she wasn’t actually mad at him. “Should you really be giving him that?” Ruth asked. Liam just shrugged, and continued to share his dried meat, along with more bread and cheese with Zayn, who sat on all fours next to him, not leaving his side.)

With every new hunter that returned, they startled at the wolf, Liam would put his arm around Zayn and explain that he was completely harmless, and that he would tell the full story when everyone was back. 

By the time supper was being served, everyone had returned. And so Liam sat, with Zayn on one side and his father on the other, and recounted his story, a longer version of what Ruth had told the few hunters that had already been at the camp. Every so often he would stop talking, and turn to Zayn to feed him a piece of food. The hunters watched in mild horror and fascination. He once again mentioned how Zayn kept him warm through the night after digging their snow shelters, and how he hunted down a rabbit for them to eat, and he once again left out everything else that would give away the fact that clearly, magic or not, Zayn was no ordinary wolf. He was already exposing too much that couldn't be explained as it was.

“Makes no sense,” Marren said. He was one of the oldest villagers that still actively went on hunts. “Never heard of a wolf behaving like that. Not natural.”

“He’s young, maybe doesn’t know any better?” That was Greg, the older brother of Liam’s friend Niall. 

“I don’t like it. Don’t like it one bit.” Segar, one of the tallest and fiercest of the hunters, scowled at Zayn, who merely wagged his tail and looked at Liam, clearly asking for another piece of meat, which he happily obliged him with. “How’s he going to earn his keep? He can’t watch the herds like the other dogs.”

Liam had thought about this on the walk back to camp. “He can help with hunting! He can help track what we’re after, and he might even be able to help take it down.”

Segar made a disbelieving noise. “He’s a wolf! You can’t train a wolf to do that.”

“Trust me, Zayn isn’t like a normal wolf! He can do all that.”

Segar looked at the wolf in disbelief. “You named him? I’m not calling a damn wolf a name!”

“Alright, alright,” Liam’s father held out his hands in a placating manner. “No one has to call him by any name. But, for better or worse, he does listen to Liam’s instructions.” The hunters started to mutter. “I know. If I hadn’t seen it with me own eyes I would never have believed it.”

In the end, it was Liam’s pleading and promise to take full responsibility if anything went wrong, Zayn’s obvious good, if atypical, behavior for a wolf, and his father’s status of one of the most well-to-do villagers, that allowed Zayn to curl up that night next to Liam, this time in a small tent that he shared with his father (and his father was anything but pleased by the wolf taking up space in the tent, but he allowed it, only because, Liam suspected, he was happy to see his son alive), and accompany them on the journey back to the village the next day. 

Despite his father’s misgivings about his mother allowing Zayn to stay, being the youngest and the only boy had its advantages. His mother wouldn’t spoil him, but she had a soft spot for him, and Liam suspected the near death experience of him freezing in the woods made it even softer, if only temporarily. 

“Liam, a wolf, really?” His mother’s response had been much like Ruth’s had been. 

She had run outside their house and down the path that led from the village to the woods upon hearing the horn blow one more time, to let the villagers know that Liam had been found. A messenger from the hunting party had run to the village to let them know the hunters would be out in the woods for several days unexpectedly, to search for the missing boy, and then the messenger gathered a large amount of food and ran back into the woods to feed the hunters at camp in between searches. So his mother had been waiting for several days to find out the fate of her only son.

Liam’s guilt returned full force when he saw his mother’s teary face, and he almost fell over from the force of her embrace. Then she saw Zayn behind Liam and yelled right in his ear, almost deafening him, and the story of his time in the woods had to be told all over again. 

They were sitting in the kitchen, his mother making sure to fix him enough food for a small army. Liam was only too happy to eat a large meal again, and was surreptitiously breaking off small pieces of meat and cheese to give to Zayn, who sat on all fours next to Liam’s chair in the kitchen, much to the consternation of his mother, who had misgivings about a wolf in her home.

“I’ll take responsibility for him, promise. I’ll feed him, keep him out of trouble. I will mother, I will!”

“Liam, love. This isn’t Louis you know.”

Liam’s friend Louis was always in trouble, and was always dragging Liam along, much to his dismay. 

“This is a wolf! And by the looks of him, he’ll only get bigger. How will you feed him?”

Liam hadn’t thought about the logistics of it all. “Um, he’s not a picky eater. He’ll eat what we eat!”

Liam’s mother shook her head. “Liam, we have more than enough food to feed this family. What we don’t have is enough food to feel a full grown wolf!”

“Well, we’ll go hunting together. I already promised the hunters he would help with tracking and taking down large animals. And, we know he can already catch rabbits. He’ll be fine.” Liam leaned down, giving Zayn another large chunk of meat. Zayn grabbed it, large teeth shining in the candlelight of the kitchen, white fur practically glowing, and he looked at home, Liam thought. Without thinking, he stroked his head, and the wolf pushed into the touch.

“Liam, what am I going to do with you.” His mother sighed, but she also reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “So glad you’re home love.”

Liam was, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are life!! :)


	5. Chapter 5

“A wolf. What does he do?”

Liam rolled his eyes in exasperation. Louis may be his best mate, but between his silly comments and propensity for trouble, he spent a lot of time driving Liam a bit crazy. He had just finished recounting his tale of meeting Zayn in the woods to his friends, but holding back all the good parts, which he would hopefully reveal to them shortly.

Louis, and Liam’s other two mates, Niall and Harry, were standing next to each other, cautiously observing Zayn, who stood next to Liam and watched the other boys with cool hazel eyes, letting out the occasional low growl. 

Liam reached over and gently flicked one of Zayn’s ears. The wolf turned and pretended to snap at Liam’s hand. The three boys gasped, and Niall cried out, “Liam watch out!”

Liam just laughed. “He doesn’t mean it, he’s just doing it for show.”

Zayn growled louder, then yipped once, and sat down on his haunches, tongue sticking out from between his sharp teeth. 

“He’s not like a normal wolf, you see.” Liam was a bit nervous, underneath it all. He wanted the boys to understand that Zayn wasn’t just a wolf, and he wasn’t like a dog or pet, but he truly was Liam’s friend, a friend who had saved his life. “Please call him Zayn.”

“Zayn?” Harry looked at the wolf, curious. “Never heard a name like that. Where’d you hear that?”

Liam looked around, cautious that no one else from the village was nearby. Niall was the same age as him, Louis a year older, and Harry a year younger. Harry and Louis and him had been friends their entire lives, growing up in the village together. Niall had moved to the village with his older brother, Greg, several years ago, and had instantly joined their little group. The villagers knew that if one boy was around, several more were sure to follow, with trouble close behind. 

Louis should have been on Liam’s first hunting trip, as he was also training to be a hunter. Due to twisting his ankle after falling out of a tree he had been trying to climb to the top of, he had been laid up and unable to go. Liam knew that Louis, in particular, had felt guilty that Liam had been separated from the group, no doubt thinking, Liam surmised, that if he had been on the trip Liam would not have been lost in the woods. Louis had hugged him longer and harder than anyone but his own family upon first seeing Liam since his return.

Harry and Niall were not to be hunters. Harry was being trained to follow in his mother’s footsteps as the village baker. While his baking creations were excellent, and he had a natural eye for refinement and beauty, Liam could admit Harry was not the most coordinated of people, and his safety around an open oven baking bread was cause for some concern. 

Niall was being trained for quite a unique position in the village - that of the village storyteller. Even though he was not born of the village, the current storyteller, Julme, had hand selected him, despite the grumbling of traditionalists and some of the village elders. Liam thought he was an excellent choice - Niall’s skill with a lute, as well as his beautiful singing voice and gregarious nature, made him a natural.

Liam looked around one more time to make sure no villager could over-hear. He had taken Zayn to meet the boys at their designated spot, which was a small section of the woods, close to the village's edge, but further north, with a little hill on one side of the trees, creating a natural barrier. The boys thought that it must be a former burial mound, as there were no other hills like it in the area. 

The day was cloudy, but so far it hadn’t snowed. Liam normally didn’t mind the snow, but after his time in the woods, he was ready for springtime, but that was many moon cycles away. The boys were all bundled in their heavy winter coats and fur-lined gloves, but even then standing still for too long without moving had them shivering. 

“He told me. I mean, Zayn told me that was his name.”

Louis raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Liam, mate. What do you mean he TOLD you.” 

Liam crossed his arms. He knew he could trust the boys with the secret, it was more a matter of convincing them. “He spelled it out in the snow. I tried to name him, I did. I suggested Snowflake and Lightning, but he didn’t like those. Then he drew his name in the snow.”

“Drew his name in the snow? Liam, did you suffer from mind freeze out there?” Louis scoffed. 

Zayn started up a low growl again, facing Louis.

“Mate, you have to admit, it doesn’t make sense,” Niall said, with a shrug.

Harry stepped forward, and began to speak slowly and at a loud volume, as if Zayn was both hard of hearing and slow. “Can you, write your name, in the snow, Zayn?”

Zayn turned to Liam and let out a loud gust of air through his nose, and then turned around completely, putting his back to Harry. 

It was as close as the wolf could get to a sigh, Liam figured. “Now you’ve offended him.”

“Offended him? A wolf?” Harry waved an arm in the air, gesturing at Zayn.

“Zayn, his name is Zayn. Ok, give us a moment, yeah?” Liam didn’t wait for an answer, but he pretended he didn’t see the incredulous looks the boys exchanged with each other as he turned around and knelt down, looping an arm around Zayn’s neck and leaning forward so he could whisper in his ear.

“Listen, Zayn, you can trust them, promise. They’ll keep this secret, yeah? I know you’re special. And I spend a lot of time with my friends, so they need to know you’re special, too. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Zayn stared into the distance, avoiding eye contact with Liam. Finally, he let out a huff of breath, and softly yipped once. “Thanks Zayn.” Liam gave him a gentle squeeze, and stood up and turned around, Zayn following his example.

The boys stopped whispering amongst themselves, and watched as Zayn stepped forward in front of Louis first, and extended one slender paw, and tapped it against his boot. Louis looked confused, but Liam smiled; this was Zayn telling the boys to trust him, in that special way of his. He then repeated the motion with Niall and Harry, and, long fluffy tail waving like a banner behind him, he turned and dragged his right paw through the snow on the ground. Everyone was quiet until he stepped back a minute later, tail still wagging, and looked up at the boys and let out a single sharp bark. In the snow, just like he had shown Liam back in the woods, the letters ZAYN were spelled out.

“Holy shit,” Niall’s eyes were wide. 

“You don’t have the mind freeze after all,” Louis said, and Liam reached over and punched his shoulder.

“What else can he spell?” Harry wondered.

Liam sighed. “That’s the only thing he can spell. We tried to come up with a system, but he couldn’t write anything else.” Zayn let out a whine at the words, and Liam leaned over and gently rubbed between his ears. “So we came up with the barking system. One bark is yes, two means no. But most of the time it’s not a real bark, more of a yipping noise.” 

“Does it work?” Louis was looking between Zayn and the name spelled out in the snow, as if to reassure himself he was actually seeing this. 

“Yes, it works!” Liam turned to Zayn but pointed at Louis. “His name is Niall.”

Zayn tilted his head, then yipped twice. 

Still pointing at Louis, Liam said. “Oh, that’s wrong, his name is actually Harry.”

Zayn yipped twice again. 

“That’s actually Louis.”

This time Zayn let out a single, loud bark. 

“And my name is Zayn.” Liam pointed to himself.

Zayn yipped twice, and then spun in a circle, waving his tail. The boys giggled, and Liam smiled. 

“I’m Liam,” Liam put his hand over his chest for emphasis. Instead of barking agreement, Zayn padded over and lifted a paw, resting it on top of Liam’s hand.

“Zayn is smart,” Niall said, sounding awed.

“The smartest,” Liam said proudly, happy his old friends had welcomed his new friend in to the fold. “We’re going to have the best adventures with Zayn along!”

And he was right, the boys would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are life! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains scenes of hunting, violence, gore, and injury.

***  
INTERLUDE: {in the not too distant future}  
***

Niall looked around the fire at the wide eyes of the children sat on logs of various sizes and shapes, who watched him avidly, despite their red noses and wind-whipped hair. 

“Put yer hoods up, or put hats on everybody. Temperature’s dropping, c'mon now!” Niall barked out, but then softened the command by standing up, strumming his lute, and slowly turning in a circle while singing, “Hoods up, hats on.” His lute was out of tune from the cold, but the children didn't seem to notice.

Niall finished his circle and looked around in satisfaction, as all the children’s heads were covered. It was the autumn equinox, and celebrations were in full swing, but this far north, the first snowfall was expected the next day. It was Revelers Night, which meant it was Niall’s job to entertain the children, much like the ancient legend of the pied piper, he would strum his lute and they would follow behind in a long line, but instead of leading them out of the village and away from their families forever, he merely dropped them off, one by one, to their warm homes where they snuggled down deep in their beds, worn out after a long night of storytelling and cold weather.

Niall sometimes wanted to be in the middle of the revelry with the other adults, but he didn’t mind keeping the children of the village occupied for one night; he was, after all, the village Storyteller. Unlike the hunters or the gardeners or builders of the village, he was the lone Storyteller, and would hold the position until he was quite old before hand selecting the next generation’s Storyteller, the way Julme had chosen him. 

Niall’s days weren’t filled with only singing and tale-telling; much of it was spent researching and writing. While oral traditions were wonderful, his village was very, very old, and he spent a fair share of his time in the archives, researching village records, and then composing new stories to bring the old tales alive, as well as writing down new stories that happened in his lifetime.

He loved studying the song books of former Storytellers - if he went back far enough, there were only symbols and pictures, not actual words, and translating those stories was half the fun. The tale he would spin tonight, however, involved no research, only composition, as he himself had been a first hand witness. 

“Alright everyone - are you ready to hear a tale about Zayn the friendly wolf tonight?”

The children cheered; they were well acquainted with Zayn’s antics, and loved hearing stories about him and his friends getting in and out of trouble. 

“Alright, first up. This happened some years ago, when I was still young. This is the tale of Zayn and Segar and the woolly mammoth -are you ready?”

Cries of “Ready!” came from around the fire. 

It was a specially made fire-pit in the middle of the village square, so the children could be loud and Niall could play his instrument and sing and talk, without fear of the creatures of the woods coming out of the shadows to investigate the noise. 

“I can’t hear you?”

“Ready!” came at a louder volume.

“Then let us begin…”

***

The Tale of Zayn and the Woolly Mammoth.

Liam didn’t know what to do. He was only twelve, after all, and while in his mind he was practically a man, he wasn’t ready to take on Segar, one of the biggest men in the village - aside from Lonne the forger, whose metal-works shop made all the hunters’ spearheads - and definitely the fiercest.

“I will not -” and here Segar pointed his spear threateningly towards Zayn, causing Liam to step forward in front of the wolf, “allow a wolf to accompany us on our hunt. It was bad enough he's allowed to wander the village at will, putting everyone in danger. I am putting my foot down, since nobody else has the fortitude to do so.”

Zayn just stared at the man and Liam tried not to show he was intimidated; Liam’s father then stepped in front of HIM, and glared at Segar, causing the man to lower his weapon. 

“Do not, and I will not repeat myself again - do not point a spear at my son.” Liam’s father took a step towards Segar.

The hunting party stood at the edge of the woods - a woolly mammoth had been spotted the previous day. The mammoths didn’t live in the woods, but in the winter were occasionally spotted passing through the big woods to the endless open plains that were on the other side. The creatures were huge, and while their meat was on the tough side, it could always be made into jerky, and their thick coats of long, shaggy fur, as well as the bones of the animal, were always put to good use. They were considered sacred by the village, and killing one was considered a high honor - it only happened once a year or so. 

This was to be Liam’s first mammoth hunt, and his first hunt he was allowed to go on since Zayn had saved his life. Zayn had been in the village a month now, and rarely left Liam’s side. It seemed only natural that the wolf would join the hunters on the quest for a mammoth. Liam didn’t want to go in the woods without Zayn, and he didn’t think the wolf was going to let him go alone. Ruth and his mother had started the journey to a village some miles away, where their eldest sister Nicola was due to give birth to her first child shortly, and they were to stay several weeks to help out, so Ruth would be missing the hunt.

Louis was also missing yet another hunt, due to a severe toothache this time, and, even in his discomfort, had instructed Zayn to keep a close eye on his friend in the woods. Liam had rolled his eyes, but he knew how upset Louis was to miss another hunt, and he didn’t want to go against his friends wishes either. 

“And what use is he?” Segar sneered. “The wolf will either scare off any animals, or just get in the way of the hunt!”

“He can help us take down the mammoth!” Liam exclaimed before his father could hush him. 

Besides him, Zayn thumped his tail in agreement on the ground. 

Segar just raised an eyebrow and twirled his spear in his gloved hand. “And, pray tell, how will he do that?”

“He can run ahead and alert us to how close the mammoth is.”

Segar scoffed. “You got him trained already?”

“No, of course not.” Liam was indignant. “He’s my friend, he’s not like the sheep dogs.”

“A friend, huh? That animal is your friend. Great, just great. Kid’s suffering from the mind freeze still.” Segar turned around kicked the ground with his boot, then shook his head and walked away from Liam.

Liam’s father turned around and gave him a hard look. “You sure about this, son?”

He nodded. “Zayn will help. He's fine with scouting ahead and coming back and letting us know if we were on the right track.”

Liam’s father shook his head. “I wouldn’t believe it myself, but…” He didn’t finish, but put an arm around Liam, and they followed the rest of the hunters into the woods, Zayn trotting alongside, white fur blending into the white snow on the ground. 

For the first several hours, Zayn’s scouting services weren’t needed - the hunters could follow the mammoth tracks, as it had not snowed since the animal had passed through. But then the snow started coming down. At first the flakes were small and soft and wet, and they tickled Liam’s lashes. Zayn wasn’t bothered by the flakes, and Liam laughed when he stuck out his tongue and tried to lick the flakes that fell on his snout. The sun was hidden behind clouds, and the entire world turned a soft velvet gray, and Liam thought that he could spend everyday in this cold northern land as long as Zayn was by his side.

But then the light snowfall picked up and turned into a swirling storm of white, rendering visibility impossible. There was talk of calling off the hunt and returning back to the village, but this was a mammoth hunt, not an ordinary hunt, and it was decided the hunters would press on while they could. 

The snow was coming down in waves, and Liam was trying to walk forward while shielding his face from the onslaught, when Zayn butted his head against Liam’s side. He raised his snout in the air for a moment, and the next moment he sprinted off into the woods.

“Zayn!” Liam called. 

He didn’t know if Zayn had scented the mammoth, but in this blizzard he didn’t want the wolf out of his sight for too long; he knew Zayn would be able to find his way back, of course, but his nights separated in the woods had left a lasting impression on Liam, and he hated to be left alone among the tall trees now, even with his father by his side.

“Don’t worry,” his father leaned down so Liam could hear him over the wind and snow. “He’ll come back.”

They pushed on, heads bent down to avoid the sting of the snow and legs lifting higher as the snow started to drift up. Liam looked up for a moment, and saw Zayn tearing through the trees, furiously barking - even through the fierce wind Liam could hear him. 

“What’s wrong Zayn?” Liam yelled. 

Zayn tossed his head back to the woods and let out a short howl, then turned back around and barked again. Liam felt the ground shake beneath his boots - was that the blizzard? But no, it couldn’t be.

Zayn barked again, and Liam got it.

“Mammoth! The mammoth!” He yelled to his father, who took up the cry, and the rest of the hunters yelled ‘mammoth!’ down the line, then got in their practiced formation of a long line. The trees were dense and it was hard for Liam to see further than the person right next to him; he had his father on one side, Zayn right next to him, and then Niall’s brother Greg.

He set his bow and arrow ready for firing, the men around him held their spears at the ready, and Zayn growled and bared his teeth. 

Liam took a deep breath, and before he could exhale, he heard the splintering sound of tree branches ripped from their trunks, and the long, terrible tusks of the mammoth appeared through the woods, followed by the biggest creature Liam had ever laid eyes on.

He had seen the long tusks before, but never on a living, breathing mammoth, and he was not prepared for the speed of the animal. He finally exhaled, and then was grabbed by the collar and yanked out of the mammoth’s path by Greg, Zayn growling and barking next to him.

He lost sight of his father as the animal lumbered past, all long stringy coat and massive size, covered in snow. Even in the cold, cold weather, he could smell the musky stench of the animal; he couldn’t imagine what it smelled like in the heat of summer or after a heavy rainfall. 

The mammoth started to turn around, crashing into tree branches and letting out a muffled trumpeting sound. 

“Get ready!” Greg yelled in his ear.

Liam trusted Greg implicitly, as he was supposed to trust all the hunters without any hesitation, otherwise how would they be successful on hunts together - but after his father and Ruth, Greg was the hunter he trusted most, and having his steady presence by his side helped.

He gripped his bow and, although terrified, held steady as the animal ran back towards them. He head yelling from the other side of the animal but couldn’t see his father or the other hunters through the snow, which fell and fell, causing the hunt to take on a strange, dream like quality. 

“Now, now!” Greg yelled, and Zayn barked loudly into the storm.

Liam let go of his arrow in between breaths, in between heartbeats, as he had been trained, and his arrow shot steady and true. Before it could even hit the lower flank of the animal, he had already set and shot another arrow. Greg had thrown his spear as well, and Liam watched as his second arrow hit the beast, right next to several spears. The animal, however, did not slow down, but instead let out a loud, angry trumpet, and turned around again, this time its backside facing Liam. 

Liam saw the deadly tusks swing through the trees, and then he heard the heart-wrenching sound of a human screaming in agony. Had a hunter been struck? He didn’t think it was his father, as whoever had been struck by the mammoth had been at the front of the hunters split line, and his father had been in the back of the line with him. But his heart stopped for a moment. Zayn didn’t hesitate, and ran towards the mammoth, dodging its heavy legs and tread. 

“Zayn!” Liam yelled, and without thinking ran around the mammoth, towards the front of the animal. 

In the trees and snow, he realized as he ran how foolish that was - it would be so easy to be struck with an errant arrow or spear, but he simply lowered his head, gripped his bow, and ran faster, until he came to the front of the animal and saw a gruesome sight - Segar lay on the ground, blood fanned out behind him like angel wings, the bright red stark against the snow. He had been gored by one of the tusks, and clutched his shoulder, but the wings of blood underneath him spread and grew.

Zayn was next to Segar, barking and trying to draw the attention of the angry mammoth away from the bleeding man so the other hunters could come and grab him out of harms way. The wolf and Segar were almost right underneath the creature.

The mammoth raised up, up on its hind legs, and as it reached a frightening height, even compared to the tall trees of the woods.

Zayn darted forward, and bit right into its softer underbelly as Liam unleashed a volley of arrows, and several of the hunters were able to land their spears as well, causing the animal to roar out and bring its front legs back down to the ground with an earth shaking rattle Liam felt in his spine. The mammoths feet barely missed Segar, who still, holding his injured shoulder. 

“Liam, get back!” His father ran towards him, arms waving, and the other hunters yelled ‘get back!’

Liam stepped back as the mammoth unleashed a loud trumpeting, clearly in distress, and watched as more spears landed in the animals side. Zayn had turned and grabbed Segar by the hood of his coat, and attempted to drag the man out from under the mammoth and further back into the trees. The mammoth started to sway in place.

“Zayn, hurry, he’s going to fall. Hurry!” Liam screamed, and he didn’t know if Zayn could hear him, but he continued to drag what looked like a now unconscious Segar along the ground. 

The mammoth sunk to its knees, then toppled forward, and with one last, earth-shattering shake, the snow resettled, and the woods were quiet again. There was silence for a moment, then yelling and frenzied movement. 

Liam ran forward to see that Zayn and Segar had cleared the fallen animal, but Segar’s eyes were closed and he did not look good. Marren, the eldest hunter, wrapped up his shoulder, but the blood seeped through. 

Other hunters pulled out the spears and arrows from the mammoth. Liam’s father ran forward and hugged him, so tight Liam could barely breathe. He pulled back. “That was very foolish of you son.”

“I couldn’t leave Zayn to fight alone!” Liam protested. On hearing his name, Zayn left Segar’s side and came over to Liam, nudging his hand with head. Liam scratched him behind the ears, then knelt down to give him a hug. 

His father shook his head. “The both of you are foolish. But very brave. Don’t ever do that again, you hear me?”

Liam nodded, then looked at Segar, who was still limp on the ground. 

Marren looked up, done with bandaging. “Mates, he might not make it. The tusk went deep. I could sew him up, but it looks like bone and tissue were broken and sliced apart. Even if we were able to get him back to the village to Asa; well, we’re hours from the village, and I’m not sure he could survive the trip back.”

Liam had always looked up to Segar for his bravery and fierceness, until Zayn had come back to their village and the hunter spoke loudly against the wolf at every turn. But he didn’t want to see the man die in such a fashion. Apparently, Zayn didn’t either. 

The wolf yipped loudly, then laid down next to Segar, and yipped and whined, while tossing his head back and forth.

Liam had an idea. He went over to Zayn and sat down next to him and furiously whispered in his ear. 

Zayn yipped once.

“Are you sure?” Liam was worried. 

Zayn lifted a paw, and put it gently on Liam’s chest, over his heart, then put it back down.

Liam felt better. “Alright, but you tell me if it becomes too much, yeah?”

Zayn growled.

“I know you’re strong, Zayn, don’t be silly.” 

Liam turned to the hunters to explain. “Zayn can carry Segar back to the village. We'll tie him to Zayn’s back as best we can, and I’ll run alongside to make sure he stays on. It will be the fastest way to get him back.”

“Liam, that’s a long run,” his father objected.

“I can handle it. I’m fast, and I have good stamina.” Liam wasn’t just saying that, and his father knew it to be true. At only twelve he was one of the best runners in the village.

“What about him, the wolf?” A hunter named Gille looked at Zayn. “His legs are awful spindly, how can he carry Segar’s weight all that way?”

Zayn growled from where he lay on the ground, and Liam huffed. “The wolf is named Zayn, and he is stronger than he looks.”

Gille looked doubtful, and he wasn’t the only one, but Greg spoke up.

“Worth a try, I say, If he doesn’t get to Asa soon, he dies, like Marren said. Might as well try to save him. Let Zayn help.”

And so it was decided.

An hour later, Liam panted for breath, lungs on fire from the cold and exertion.

The hunters had plenty of rope, as they brought it for the hunt, along with makeshift stretchers, to help carry the different sections of the mammoth back to the village after cutting apart and wrapping up the animal. They had used the rope, wrapping it in a complicated series of loops, around Segar and around Zayn, to keep them bound together. Segar was still unconscious, and was draped across Zayn as if he was riding a horse, only he was slumped forward, with his head resting on the back of Zayn’s neck. They couldn’t put the rope around his left shoulder, however, where he had been injured, so he wasn’t tied as tightly as he could be. 

Liam jogged alongside, occasionally having Zayn stop so he could adjust Segar and then they would run on. The snow and wind had abated, but it was slow going, as running through the snow on the ground slowed their progress. Zayn tried to run as smoothly as possible, but he could only do so much in the woods. Liam followed Zayn’s lead, trusting the wolf to return them to the village by taking the shortest route possible. 

Liam stopped for a moment, leaned against the nearest tree and tried to catch his breath. Every deep breath he took burned, but he kept trying to take in air. Zayn yipped sharply.

“I know, I know, I just need a minute.” Liam put his hands behind his head, tried to inhale, and looked at Zayn. His long legs shook with the strain of carrying Segar, who was not small. If his legs shook while he stood not moving, Liam couldn’t imagine the strain he was under running with the man on his back. Seeing the effort it cost his friend motivated him. 

“You alright?”

Zayn yipped again, softly this time, then whined. 

“I know, I know. I’m ready, let’s go.”

Lungs burning and legs wobbly, Liam pushed off from the tree and followed his friend.

Luckily, only a quarter hour later they emerged from the trees and reached the outskirts of the village. Before Liam could say anything, Zayn let out a loud, mournful howl, and the villagers started to pour out of their homes. Zayn ran straight to the home of Asa, the village healer, and several villagers came forward, cutting the ropes that bound Segar to the wolf.

The moment the last rope was cut and Segar was lifted off Zayn’s back and taken inside the healer’s home, Zayn collapsed to the ground, and Liam sunk down next to him. He knew he should stand and stretch and take deep breaths, but his exhaustion overtook him. 

One of the villagers brought Liam a cup of water. 

“Can Zayn have a bowl of water, please?” Liam gasped.

Zayn lifted a paw and tapped at the side of Liam’s boot, and then turned on his side on the ground, tongue lolling out, panting furiously, eyes closed, and long limbs minutely shaking. Liam sighed. They had done everything they could, Segar’s survival was out of their hands now.

Two months later.

It was an eventful time in the Payne household. Nicola had given birth to a baby boy named Calen, and Liam couldn’t wait to meet his nephew in a couple months when the entire Payne family would journey to the village of Nicola’s husband and his family. He had turned thirteen the previous week, and today was the day of Ruth’s spear ceremony. 

Liam stood in the village square, Zayn by his side. The tale of Zayn and Liam and the woolly mammoth had quickly spread through the village, and overnight, many of the villagers attitude towards the wolf had drastically changed. Liam was annoyed at first: how could they not see how amazing Zayn was from the start? But the logical side of him knew this was a good thing for Zayn, as he wanted his friend to feel welcome, and consider village as his home, too. 

Liam’s father would give the official reading to Ruth during the hunters sacred spear ceremony, so Liam stood between his mother and Zayn. The day was cold, as always, and he shivered, hoping the ceremony would be a quick one.

A murmur ran through the crowd; he thought that Ruth had arrived, but it was Segar, out and about for the first time since his near fatal injury.

He was more gaunt than the last time Liam had seen him, and under his coat he could see the bulk of the complicated brace that he wore on his left shoulder, that was to help make sure the muscles and tendons and bones healed correctly. Liam and Zayn had visited him several times since the incident, but, per the healers orders, the visits were brief.

Segar walked towards Liam and Zayn, and then stood in front of them, the rest of the village gathered in the square witness to what was to take place. Segar slowly knelt down on one knee, so that he was eye-level with Zayn.

“I want to thank you, for saving my life. Thank you. Zayn. And I want to apologize, I didn’t know a wolf could do what you did. You are welcome on any hunt.”

Liam knew that this was the highest praise Segar was capable of giving someone. 

Zayn, slowly, reached out a paw and tapped Segar’s boot. Segar looked confused.

“It means everything’s fine. He trusts you and you can trust him,” Liam explained.

“Ah, I see.” Segar looked at him. “And thank you Liam. Both of you saved my life; I owe you my life, and for that I will never forget.”

He slowly raised to his feet, and with a heavy clap on Liam’s shoulder, he went to take his place in the crowd.

Liam turned to Zayn, and whispered in his ear. “Nice being a hero that. Maybe one day the Storyteller will be singing about how brave we are, yeah?”

Zayn yipped once, then turned and faced forward, putting on his serious face as the ceremony was about to begin. He nudged Liam’s side however, and Liam smiled and put his hand in the thick fur of Zayn’s neck. It felt good to be a hero. 

***

Niall looked around the fire, to see the sleepy, contented faces of the village’s children looking back at him, the shadows from the flames causing their faces to flicker in and out of view.

“So, what do we think? Did Segar learn a lesson?”

A young girl piped up. “Don’t judge a wolf by its cover!”

Niall smiled. “Exactly.”

The other children spoke up. 

“Zayn’s my favorite. He’s brave.” 

“Liam and Zayn are best friends - and they’re both brave.”

“Story should have been more bloody.”

Niall rolled his eyes at that last one. The story was plenty bloody.

“Alright, past yer bedtimes, the lot of you. It’s time.” He ignored the groans and complaints, and started strumming and walking. Despite the grumblings, the children fell in line behind him, and they wound through the village, returning to their respective homes. Niall listened to the chatter about Zayn the friendly wolf. They were some of his favorite stories to sing and talk about; but the happy ending of the tale of Zayn the friendly wolf was the best part of the story by far, he thought to himself with a smile. He couldn't wait to tell the children that story.

***  
END OF INTERLUDE  
***


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So my goal for NANOWRIMO is 50,000 words, but all applied to my various WIPs. I was traveling for work the last week or so, and I am behind on my goal, but I got a lot of writing done on this story, so I feel good about that. Two chapters posted at a time, woo! Hope you continue to enjoy this winter fable!

***  
FOUR YEARS LATER  
***

The wind was strong and cold, but Zayn didn’t mind. 

He galloped through the woods at top speed stretching his long legs, over tree roots, over rocks, around errant bushes, ignoring the squirrels high in the trees and the occasional lone crow cawing overhead; he knew this stretch of woods by heart. It was the day of Liam’s spear ceremony, and Zayn was both excited and nervous for his best friend; he knew how monumental this day was in the life of the small village he’d made his home over the last four years.

He hadn’t known, on that fateful snowy night in the woods when he had found Liam desperately trying to take shelter in a snow drift, that he would follow the lost boy back to his village. But Zayn knew, even then, that he wasn’t a normal creature of the woods. He knew his own name, he knew he identified with the humans of the village more than his animal counterparts, and he knew he had a history and a past - but the strange thing was, it was all a blur. 

Zayn remembered his life before Liam - he remembered traversing the cold woods alone, he remembered hunger, and then starvation, and then weakness so severe he could barely walk, and then he remembered learning how to hunt small rabbits and squirrels, and even taking down small deer. He never felt good about it, and he remembered hating the taste, but eating the other animals didn’t make him sick, it merely gave him energy, and he resigned himself to the fact that he was a predator. 

But he knew his life hadn’t always been that way. He knew, before he was alone and hungry in the woods, life had been different. But when he stretched his mind back, there was only a sensation of loss and mist. The harder he tried to remember, the blurrier everything became. 

And so as the years went by, Zayn stopped trying to remember his past, and instead settled down to the way of life in the small village. Some days, though, he felt more wolf-like than others, and so he would find Liam, playfully headbutt him in the chest (Zayn had grown over the years, along with Liam, and his head now came up to Liam’s chest. His legs were still long and slender, but he was now lean muscle instead of skin and bones. Years of Liam, and the rest of the Payne family, and the village in general, sneaking him food, in addition to his sojourns into the woods to go hunting, had helped him put on weight, especially during the long, tough winters), and toss his head towards the woods, and give a small, subdued howl. Liam knew exactly what that meant; he would grin, eyes crinkled and smile wide, and fondly rub Zayn between his ears, and say, “Go on then, see you in a bit,” and he would bound off for some much needed alone time in the woods. 

Now, nervous energy expelled after a brisk run in the woods, Zayn took the longer, roundabout way out of the woods in order to join the road that led in and out of the village. He liked coming this route, as it enabled him to see the sign posted right before the road curved and the first homes of the village appeared. When Zayn had first arrived, the wooden sign (repainted every spring) simply said the name of the village, Atelihai; after he had saved the hunter Segar from certain death by woolly mammoth, a second, smaller sign, had been added at both Liam and Segar's insistence. This sign had a picture of a white wolf, with black letters stating “Home of Zayn, the friendly wolf.” 

Liam had painted the sign and the picture, which Zayn was proud of; his friend had explained that he didn’t want any travelers or hunting parties passing through to spot Zayn roaming freely around the village and reach for their bow and arrow or spear, or be afraid of him. Zayn was a little embarrassed, but Liam had been so earnest about the entire thing, so he yipped his agreement and stood there and watched while Liam and Niall hung up the sign, as Harry couldn’t be trusted with nails and a hammer, and Louis stood there giving advice but refusing to actually help. And then the sign was up.

Zayn slowed down for a several strides to look fondly at the sign, then raced around the curve in the road to the first stretch of homes in the village. He couldn’t read, with the exception of being able to spell and recognize his own name, which didn’t make sense - he swore that at one time, he COULD read. Now, he could see the letters, and understand them individually, but when he tried to put them together into words, that same blurring sensation that occurred when he tried to remember his life in the woods before learning how to survive on his own happened, and he his head began to hurt. 

He made Liam say the words out loud several times when he hung the sign, so Zayn could remember them, and he would repeat them to himself every time he looked at the picture of the white wolf. “Home of Zayn, the friendly wolf.” He would smile to himself (or, as close to a smile as a wolf could get, more of a grimace really), and repeat the words one last time, and then head straight home. 

The house of Payne was in a state of chaos when Zayn pushed open the back door and padded inside, after carefully wiping his paws off on the mat made of dry thrushes next to the door. (That had been another modification made to accommodate Zayn - Liam had changed the door handle from a round knob to a push lever years ago so the wolf could come and go as he pleased.). 

Ruth was in the corner of the main room, polishing Liam’s new spear he would use in the formal ceremony that would officially decree him a full-fledged hunter. Louis’s ceremony had been the year before, and Zayn fondly remembered Louis’s improper yelling after rising to his feet and accepting his spear. Zayn was sure that Liam, who took these types of things seriously, would do no such demonstration.

Liam’s mother and father stood in front of him, adjusting his ceremony robes, which were a deep red and very elegant and flattering; or at least Zayn thought as much, standing there. He realized suddenly his tail was wagging and his tongue was lolling out, watching Liam stand there and pretend to look exasperated, as his parents adjusted his robes; but Zayn knew him well enough to know how pleased and nervous he was about the entire production. Zayn quickly stilled his tail and put his tongue away and sat down on his haunches. He wanted to help, but figured he’d only be in the way of the last minute preparations.

“Ready for today, Zayn?” Liam had gently shooed his parents away, and with a last round of shoulder pats and near tears, his family left for the ceremony, Ruth still holding the spear as she would be the one presenting it to her younger brother. 

Zayn stood and walked over to Liam, who knelt down, so he was eye to eye with him. Liam sighed, and reached out and absently stroked one of Zayn’s ears. While the entire village was allowed to give Zayn food and he let everyone, children and adults alike, give him friendly pats on the head or the occasional snuggle with their arms thrown around his neck, only Liam, not even the other Paynes or Louis, Niall, or Harry, were allowed to touch his ears. It was a well known rule in the village that young children quickly learned to follow.

“I know I’m supposed to be excited about today. I mean, it’s been four years since Ruth’s ceremony, and I've been counting down the days, I have. But now that it’s here. I don’t know.” Liam paused in his stroking, and Zayn gently pushed into his hand to remind him, and he started rubbing his ears again. “I feel almost sad? I guess there’s no going back now. Next thing you know I’ll be looking to settle down and start a family, huh?”

Zayn involuntarily gave a low growl, then tried to stop the noise.

Liam smiled. “Don’t worry, Zayn. I go where you go, and you go where I go, yeah? I won’t ever leave you behind.”

And with that declaration he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on top of Zayn’s head. “C’mon, let’s head to the square, they’ll be waiting for us.”

Zayn trotted beside Liam on the path to the town square; he had been so excited this morning, and now his mood felt somber. He didn’t know if he was catching Liam’s mood, or if it was his best friend’s words about settling down and starting a family. Most of the villagers found a partner and settled down within a couple years of their chosen profession’s ceremony, Zayn knew that was the common practice. He should be happy at the thought of Liam finding someone to spend his life with, but instead he felt irritated and melancholy. He had learned that word from Niall. 

Since Zayn couldn’t read, but loved stories, Niall often practiced his storytelling skills to him. Zayn would yip at the good parts and growl at the parts that needed work, and Niall would stop and explain the meaning of a word when Zayn would reach forward and tap his boot. Melancholy. It was an apt word to describe his current mood.

His aura of melancholy lifted somewhat when the town square came into view. Of all the town’s ceremonies for a villager’s chosen profession, the spear giving ceremony was the most ancient and formal. 

Liam turned to him and muttered, “I almost forgot.” He reached into his robes and pulled out a thin red cloth collar with a gold buckle to adjust the fit - upon closer inspection Zayn saw the red material was interwoven with bright gold thread - it matched Liam’s formal robes, which were deep red with gold stars woven into the sleeves and around his neck. The collar had matching gold stars and swirls.

“I had Georges make it for you when he was commissioned to sew my ceremony robes - I hope you don’t mind? I wouldn’t be here today, or be the hunter I am, without you Zayn, and I want you to run the gauntlet with me. Only if you want to, of course.”

Liam stood there, collar in hand, looking very unsure of himself. 

Zayn felt a chill run down his spine, and he gave a short yip, then lifted his head as straight as he could, looking steadily at Liam. He watched Liam lean forward, and he felt the soft cloth against his neck, and then the collar was adjusted so the fit wasn’t so loose.

“Is that too tight?”

Zayn softly yipped twice to let Liam know the fit was perfect. He realized his melancholy mood was lifted. He would be running the gauntlet with Liam, and while that was unheard of, as a hunter always walked it alone, he was thrilled that Liam wanted him by his side. 

“Ready?”

Zayn didn’t yip, just nodded his head, and Liam smiled, then put on a stern, focused frown, and turned to face the waiting crowd. Zayn followed his lead, facing front and trying to look as serious as possible. Liam took a step forward, and Zayn made sure to stick right by his side, proudly displaying his collar. 

He had first seen the hunter ceremony when Ruth had hers four years ago. Liam had explained to him that running the gauntlet used to mean running through a line of his fellow hunters while the runner would be struck with the blunt end of their spears from all sides - the goal being to run as quickly as possible - that had thankfully been declared barbaric several generations back, and the ceremony was altered.

Zayn walked next to Liam, pressing his side against him, as they reached the middle of the town square, where two rows of the hunters were lined up, waiting for them to walk through. Instead of striking them, Liam would pause in front of each hunter, Zayn making sure to pause in his steps as well, and they would tap him on the nearest shoulder with their spear, and then he would proceed onward, until he reached the end of the gauntlet. 

Liam’s father and Louis were the last hunters to tap him.

“I’m so proud of you son.” Liam’s father gently tapped his shoulder. 

Louis was less formal. “Finally Liam, took you long enough.” 

He was standing on Zayn’s side, reaching over him to tap Liam’s shoulder. He looked down and smirked. “Nice collar there Zayn.”

Zayn sniffed the air, pretending to ignore Louis, but he knew his tail was wagging, and he tried to contain his pride.

Ruth stood at the end of the gauntlet line, her own spear in one hand, and Liam’s in the other. She began the speech, the same wording that had been used since the village had been founded, many generations ago. 

Zayn tried to listen, but he was distracted by the cold breeze ruffling his fur, and the foreign feel of the cloth collar around his neck - it wasn’t a bad feeling but he wasn’t used to the weight of it. He felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise. He turned his head to look back at the hunters. They had fallen out of line formation, and were standing in a semi-circle right besides them. Behind the hunters the rest of the village had gathered, Liam’s mother looking on proudly from the front of the crowd. Zayn searched the crowd, looking for the person or thing who had set his sharp senses alight. Several people behind Liam’s mother was a young woman Zayn had never seen. He tried to subtly scent the air - but the entire village was behind him, pressed tightly together with their scents mingling in the cold winter air, and he couldn’t distinguish the scent of the stranger.

The woman stood between the Millers, an older couple who had never had children. She was very pretty, with large dark eyes and hair a bright pink. Or was it a light purple? Zayn had never seen hair like that. The woman made eye-contact with him, and once again he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, and a low growl started in his throat.

“I want a wolf, please.” Liam’s voice rang loud and clear, and Zayn quickly turned his head and looked at Liam, strange woman forgotten.

Georges, the town tailor who had sewn Zayn’s collar, was standing next to Ruth, holding a customized needle. Zayn had somehow forgotten about this part of the ceremony - each hunter was to choose an animal, one they identified with or loved that symbolized their spirit, and Georges used his nimble fingers and expert eye to ink their skin in a location of their choosing. Louis had chosen to have a swift bird inked on his forearm, and Ruth had a rabbit inked on her ankle. 

But Liam - everybody had expected Liam to get a lion. Liam the lion-hearted, Zayn thought, and he cursed his frustration, once again, for his inability to speak actual words to Liam, as well as the rest of the villagers; he wanted to ask Liam what made him change his mind. The House of Payne had a long tradition of hunters who received a lion in ink - Liam had many a great aunt, uncle, cousin and so on, who had been branded with the lion. It also adorned the family crest.

“Where would you like the wolf?” Georges was a quiet man, from a long line of tailors, and Zayn wouldn’t trust many people with a needle around Liam, but he trusted this man. 

“Right here.” Liam pulled down the front of his robe, pointing to the spot right below the base of his throat. 

“And what color would you like the wolf?”

Liam didn’t hesitate. “Red.”

Zayn was surprised for a second time. Most hunters went with black ink, he didn’t think any of the active hunters, with the exception of Niall’s brother, Greg, who had a green badger on his upper arm, had gone with color. 

Ruth then presented Liam with his new spear, and the villagers cheered while Liam held his spear and smiled. Zayn barked loudly, tail wagging in pride at his friend.

Georges then gestured to two chairs that had been placed off to the side of the center of the town square, and Liam walked towards them, while the hunters, and then the rest of the villagers, took up the chant of 'Liam the wolf!' before dispersing and returning to their homes, the public part of the ceremony finished. After the inking was complete there would be full course meal with family and friends. 

Zayn felt a bit dazed by it all, and he followed Liam over to the chair and watched as he sat down and leaned his head back, fully exposing his neck, while Georges pulled the collar of his red robes down, and wiped at the area to be inked with a cleansing cloth. Next to the chairs was a small table filled with pots holding different colored ink. As the tailor dipped his special needle into the pot holding the red ink, Zayn padded right next to Liam’s chair, sat down, and nudged his elbow, as his hands had been tightly clasped in his lap. Zayn felt Liam grip onto the fur around his neck, right below his new collar, where it was the thickest. He made a small whining noise. Then he felt Liam grip hard, so hard it almost hurt, but Zayn saw Georges hand with the needle against Liam’s throat, and he tried not to whine, but to sit as still as possible.

An hour later, Liam let go of Zayn. He had relaxed his grip after the first pricks of the needle, but hadn’t let go of his fur the entire time. 

“All done, boys.” Georges had put down his tools, and picked up a small handheld mirror from his table, holding it up so Liam could see the handiwork. 

Zayn watched Liam look in the mirror, and then he got his first good look - in bright red ink, a wolf’s head in a geometric pattern came to life on Liam’s skin, nestled in the hollow of his throat. 

“Do you like it?” Liam asked, looking at Zayn.. 

Zayn loved it. He yipped in approval.

Liam smiled. “I like it too,.” He turned to Georges and shook his hand. “Thank you. Thank you so much - it’s exactly what I wanted. C’mon.” Here he turned back to Zayn. “I’m starving, let’s go eat, yeah?”

Zayn yipped again, and walked next to Liam, tail waving in the air, and his new collar snug against his fur.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NANOWRIMO is forcing me to write, therefore forcing me to update. Yay. I'm using the word force, lol, but this is a good thing. Thank you so much for the comments/kudos so far, so happy people are reading and enjoying - hope you like this new chapter - things are happening! :)

“It’s all very mysterious,” Liam’s mother spoke to Ruth, and Zayn only half listened; he was too busy eating the delicious dinner that had been prepared to celebrate Liam’s spear ceremony.

“She shows up in the village with a letter one day?” Ruth wondered.

The Payne family, as well as Niall, Greg, Harry, and Louis, were crowded around the table where the Paynes took their meals, bumping elbows, as the table was not large enough to fit everyone. Zayn sat behind Liam, dinner plate on the floor. He knew, that if Liam had his way, Zayn would have his own place setting at the table, and Liam would have removed a chair so that Zayn could sit on his haunches and eat from his plate on the table, but Liam’s mother had put her foot down many years ago.

“Zayn, love, nothing personal, but you’re a bit messy, yeah? And you take up a lot of room.”

Zayn didn’t mind. As far as wolves went, he knew how lucky he was; the Paynes had adopted him into their family. While the Payne family, and Liam’s friends, knew about Zayn’s extraordinary abilities and the way Liam and Zayn had figured out how to communicate, the rest of the town was left more in the dark, but Zayn suspected, after all these years, they had probably caught on. But nothing was ever said, as Zayn had fallen into the role of town mascot and helper, and if anybody suspected anything suspicious around his abilities, it had long ago transformed into appreciation for his talent and skills and willingness to help, especially if somebody was in trouble.

“She showed up two days ago with a letter. She’s Ruth Miller’s youngest sister’s only daughter.” Liam’s mother paused. “Or, I think that’s the relationship. But I guess her mother has met a tragic end, and she’s all alone in the world. Or, she has a brother, but I think he’s traveling. So she’s come to live with her aunt and uncle. She’s your age, boys, you should introduce yourselves to her and give her a tour of the village.”

The boys all gave varying grunts of indifference, as they were all focused on their food, except for Harry, who managed to mumble out, “Of course Mrs. Payne.”

“You know Liam, she’s very pretty.” 

Zayn lifted his head from his plate, attention fully on the conversation now, and turned to look at Liam’s reaction. 

Liam just shrugged. “I didn’t notice her during the ceremony, bit busy and all.”

Zayn noticed that Louis looked at him thoughtfully. He was conscious of the fact that he still wore the decorative collar; after the ceremony they had come back to the Payne house and Liam had changed out of his ceremony robes and into his regular clothes. He had offered to take off the collar for Zayn, but he had shook his head, wanting to keep it on. He wasn’t sure why - he knew Liam had the collar made specifically for the ceremony, but he liked being able to wear a gift from Liam; it felt special. Zayn could also see the fresh red ink of the tattoo at the base of Liam’s throat now that he had put on his regular clothes - in the candlelight at the dinner table, the geometric pattern of the wolf seemed to move and come alive. Zayn couldn’t stop looking at it. 

“So Liam,” Louis said, but he was looking at Zayn still. “What made you decide on a wolf? Thought you’d go for a lion?”

“Thought it was obvious.” Liam continued to eat, and Zayn continued to watch, curious, as Louis voiced the exact thought he’d had during the ceremony the moment Liam had requested a wolf instead of a lion.

“No, Liam. That’s why I’m asking.” Louis’ sarcasm was evident; Niall had taught that word to Zayn many years ago, and it had come in handy, often describing Louis and his ridiculous statements.

“Cause of Zayn, of course.” Liam said it like it was the most casual thing in the world. 

Louis still watched Zayn, it was beginning to unnerve him. “What about Zayn?”

Liam put down his fork, looking exasperated. Niall and Harry paused in their eating, and Liam’s parents and Greg and Ruth looked up from their food as well. 

“It’s obvious the wolf is for Zayn, because, like I told him before the ceremony, I wouldn’t be the hunter I am today, if not for him. I wouldn’t even be alive, if it wasn’t for him. He saved me, he saved Segar, and he’s helped countless other people in the village. He’s not only the best hunting companion, he’s my best friend, and he’s very inspiring.” Liam turned in his seat, and gave Zayn a brilliant smile, then turned back around with a shrug. “Seemed obvious to me.” 

He went back to eating, and everyone followed, except for Zayn, who felt overwhelmed with a wave of fondness for his best friend. Lately, the waves of fondness felt - not bad, but different. A little stronger. It almost - Zayn didn’t want to say hurt, but they caused an ache of sorts. He didn’t know if it was the fact that they were growing up, and as Liam had reminded him earlier, one day he would be settling down with his own family, and Zayn wasn’t sure where that left him, no matter how many times Liam declared they would never be apart.

The fact that Liam now had a red wolf inked on his skin forever- that definitely caused an ache, and Zayn suddenly felt like he couldn’t possibly eat another bite, but needed to go for a run in the woods. 

He went behind Liam and gently nudged his elbow, and let out his softest howl.

“You want to go in the woods now?” Liam put down his fork again and turned to Zayn, concern in his brown eyes. “You already went on a long run this morning; everything alright?"

Zayn softly yipped once, and tossed his head towards the direction of the woods.

Liam smiled. “Alright, alright, go on then. Be careful.”

Zayn nudged Liam in the elbow again, then trotted towards the back door, pushed the lever, and was out like a shot, across the snow-covered yard and towards the woods. He ran as fast as he could - the sun had set hours ago; this time of year in the far north the hours of daylight were short, and the nights, in between snow, were clear and cold. Zayn looked up and could see the canopy of stars, and his friend the north star. He would never tell anyone, but after Liam, he considered the star his closest friend. It wasn't that Harry, Niall, and Louis hadn’t become dear friends, but before he met Liam, on the nights alone in the woods, hungry and lonely, the north star was the only constant source of both direction and company. (He rarely thought of those nights anymore). Zayn didn’t know it was called the north star, he learned that on the warmer nights of the year, when Liam and him would go out into the yard behind the Payne house and lay in the course grass on their backs, and Liam would teach him the names of stars and constellations. 

“Niall says not everybody calls it the north star,” Liam said one unusually warm night the previous summer. 

Zayn lay on his back and squirmed in the grass, which was so course it felt like a comb in his summer coat, and he couldn’t get enough of the feeling. He gave a short yip to encourage Liam to continue.

“He says in some parts of the world it goes by Polaris, according to the records, and it wasn’t always the north star, and there will come a time when it won’t be the north star again. Do you know what that means Zayn?”

Zayn turned his head to look at Liam, but he was looking up at the sky, hand in the air, fingers making lazy patterns, tracing the constellations above him. Zayn softly yipped twice.

“It means the stars move. And we move, too, can you believe? It doesn’t feel like we move, but Niall says it’s slow, so we can’t feel it.”

Zayn yipped once in agreement, and turned from Liam back to the sky, which looked like the black velvet cloth one of the traders passing through the village had brought earlier in the year. Zayn and Liam had never seen velvet before, and Zayn remembered Liam gently rubbing the material against his snout and smiling at Zayn’s reaction. 

“I think,” Liam said slowly, “that we should follow the north star while we can, because one day it might not be there.”

Zayn loved these types of conversations, and the nights he spent with Liam and the stars were his favorite. He just wished he had the ability to tell Liam he already knew all about the north star, and how important it was to follow it, to keep a semblance of hope, when on those darkest nights in the woods it was all he had to walk towards. 

But tonight, he briefly glanced at the north star, then kept running. He didn’t know why he felt so overwhelmed by the day and Liam’s choice to ink a red wolf, but he knew, somehow, that running himself until he was worn out was the only way for this new ache that had settled deep within him, every time he looked at his best friend, to lessen. 

Some time later, Zayn was worn out, in both body and mind. As he headed back, he saw someone walking alone on the road that led in and out of the village; the hackles on the back of his neck began to rise like they had at Liam’s ceremony, and he realized it was the new girl with the purple hair, the Miller’s niece that the Paynes had talked about. He didn’t understand his reaction, as even the surliest of traders, hunters, and travelers that passed through the village had never caused all the hair on the back of his neck to rise, instantly putting him on high alert. 

He yipped softly, so as not to startle her. He knew she had been at the ceremony earlier in the day and would certainly have noticed him walking the gauntlet with Liam, and he was sure the Millers, very kind people, had let her know he was not be feared, but he always erred on the side of caution when new people or travelers came through the village. 

The woman, much to Zayn’s surprise, didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by a large wolf approaching her in the darkness. He was going to pass by her with just a nod, eager to get home, but she stopped walking and greeted him.

“And here is the famous Zayn, the friendly wolf,” the woman said. 

Zayn politely stopped in front of her, and wagged his tail. By instinct, he acted as 'wolf-like' as possible; something told him that showing his more unusual characteristics was not a good idea around this woman. In the moonlight, her purple hair glowed, and her wide brown eyes assessed him.

“And what is this?” She gestured to his collar. 

Zayn continued to wag his tail and tried to look as unintelligent as possible.

“Most curious. Never seen a wolf willing to wear a collar. Almost like you have promised yourself to your human, Liam.”

She reached out to touch the collar, and Zayn took a step back, suppressing a growl - he didn't want the strange woman to touch him or his collar, and he did not belong to Liam, anymore than Liam belonged to him. They were best friends.

“Well, this changes things. I was going to come here and leave, but I think I’m going to stay for awhile in this little village of yours.”

Zayn didn’t understand what was going on, but he took another step back. 

The woman tossed her hair took a step forward. “Oh, Zayn, don’t worry, nothing is going to happen to you.” And with that she walked past him, her long skirts brushing the ground; she looked like she was floating on top of the snow. Zayn didn’t move until she had walked around the curve of the road away from the village. He wondered where she was headed at this late hour, but then quickly ran the rest of the way home, wondering how he could alert Liam and the other boys of her strange behavior. 

The next day morning found Zayn and Liam at the bakery where Harry worked, Louis and Niall also in attendance. Niall was sitting at a table composing a song, occasionally trying a word or phrase on Zayn, who would yip a yes or no. Liam and Louis were about to leave to head over to Lonne the forgers smithery to pick up the newest spearheads and arrowheads. Harry had been trying out new recipes, much to everyone’s delight. Zayn had happily scarfed down everything Harry had let him sample, and it had been a good morning all around. 

Until the shop door opened, and brought in cold wind and the strange new woman with the purple hair; once again, Zayn’s fur stood on end. 

The woman glided over, her skirts a deep navy blue embroidered with silver, hair piled on top of her head. Even in the bright light of morning, her vivid purple hair seemed to glow. Zayn tried to remember every traveler and visitor to the village, but he could never recall anyone with hair of that brilliant hue, it was most unusual. 

“Good morning, gentlemen.”

The boys all stood up, and politely greeted her, except for Zayn, who sat there and continued to eat his extra large twist roll rather aggressively, but he watched her out of the corner of his eye. 

“I’m new in town, as I’m sure you know. In such a quaint little town word tends to travel fast. Let me introduce myself - I’m Adrianna, the youngest daughter of Ruth Miller’s sister, Edy. I’ve come to stay with my Aunt and Uncle, as my mother recently passed away.”

Liam bowed slightly. “So sorry to hear about your mother, ma’m. I’m Liam, and this is Harry, Niall, and Louis,” he pointed to each boy in turn, “and that’s Zayn.”

“Please, call me Adrianna. Oh, I’ve heard about Zayn, the friendly wolf. What a darling pet; he wears a little collar and everything.”

At that, Zayn let the rest of the roll lay on the ground and he glared up at the woman, refusing to stand.

Liam cleared his throat. “Erm, he’s not a pet. He’s a full fledged hunter himself, and our friend. He’s friends with everyone in the village, actually.”

Zayn tried not to preen from his spot on the ground. 

Adrianna tilted her head. “I see, how darling. Anyway, I was wondering if one of you could show me around the village, seeing as I’m new and all.” She stepped forward, and put a hand on Liam’s arm. “You came personally recommended as a tour guide, Liam.”

Zayn stood to his feet and walked over to next to Liam, a low growl starting in his throat. The other boys looked at him in surprise; he knew how he was acting, but he needed to let them know this woman was not to be trusted. Adrianna coolly met his gaze, but Liam looked embarrassed. 

“C’mon now Zayn, let’s be nice to new people in town, yeah?” 

Adrianna raised an eyebrow and let go of Liam’s arm. “The sign said he was friendly, but I don’t know.”

“He is, he is -” Liam started. 

Louis interrupted. “Liam, time to get going to Lonne’s, yeah?”

Liam looked at Adrianna. “Apologies, we have to run an errand. Tour another time?”

Adrianna glanced quickly at Zayn, who hadn’t moved from Liam’s side, though he tried to tone down the growling. “May I come with you? Lonne is the forger, right? I haven’t met him yet.”

“Uh sure, of course,” Liam said. He turned to Zayn and gave him a ‘what the hell’ look, but Zayn merely continued his sub-vocal growl, although it was more of a rumble now.

“Nice to meet you, Adrianna,” Harry waved, as he re-tied his apron and went back to the large open hearth oven to check his bread. 

Niall waved from where his head was already bent back over his papers. “Same.”

Zayn followed Liam and Louis outside and down the road to Lonne’s forgery. Adrianna tried to walk next to Liam, but Zayn quickly inserted himself between them, making sure to press up against Liam’s legs and sides.

Liam laughed and reached out and rubbed his fur below the collar, but looked confused. “Zayn, c’mon now, be nice.” He looked at Adrianna. “Sorry, he’s usually quite friendly.”

He didn’t know how else to make Liam understand that Adrianna was not to be trusted, even though he didn’t understand her motivations or his own physical reaction to her. Other than outright barking in her face, he didn’t know what else to do. 

They reached the forger and went inside. Lonne and his new apprentices, twin sister and brother Emery and Rycof, were bent over the forge as Lonne instructed them on the proper temperature to heat the metal. 

Zayn had known the twins as long as he’d been in the village, and they all got along well with all the boys as they were the same age and had grown up together; until recently he’d had no problem with either one of them, but, lately, Rycof kept trying to spend more time with Liam. But not with the entire group of boys, just with Liam one on one. He was perfectly nice and he didn’t cause Zayn’s hackles to rise, so he wasn’t sure why he was so reluctant to leave Liam alone with him.

“Hi Liam!” Rycof beamed when he looked up and saw the group standing there. 

If Zayn could roll his eyes, he would; he had seen Louis do it often enough, but alas, it did not seem something his wolf eyes were capable of.

His sister giggled, and elbowed her brother. 

Rycof glared at her and blushed. “And hello Louis and Zayn.”

Louis laughed. “Yes, we are also here.”

Rycof was still red. “Uh, yes. And you must be Adrianna? So sorry to hear about your late mother.”

“Thank you so much for the kind sentiment. Nice to meet you both.” Adrianna’s hair seemed to glow brighter in the light from the forge.

Emery smiled. “Welcome to the village. I’m Emery, this is my brother Rycof, and this is Lonne, the forger." Lonne lifted his head up in greeting, and then went back to concentrating on the forge. "We are apprenticing under him. And you are here to pick up your arrows right?”

“Yes, we are. Did you make this batch yourself?” Liam asked.

Rycof’s smile was back in full force. “Yes, this is the first batch I did all on my own. Well, Lonne supervised of course, but come see!” 

Zayn tried to muffle a growl as he watched Rycof walk over, take off his thick forgery gloves, and practically drag Liam to the supply room in the back; Liam turned and gave an apologetic wave to the rest of the group as he was pulled along.

Emery came over, also pulling off her gloves. “You’ll have to forgive my brother, he’s not very subtle.” She bent down and gave Zayn a friendly pat. “I love that collar, Zayn. It matched Liam’s ceremony robes perfectly.” 

He wagged his tail; he had always liked Emery, she couldn’t help her brother’s need to always have Liam to himself. 

Louis laughed. “No subtly is not his strength. Let’s see your batch of arrowheads, yeah?”

They walked into the supply room as well, leaving Zayn with Adrianna. The supply room was a very small space, and the last time Zayn had been in there he accidentally knocked over a batch of tools that Lonne had recently pulled out of the forge that hadn’t fully set yet, so he was banned from the supply room. Lonne felt bad, he could tell, but Zayn understood. The village was welcoming and his home, but the spaces he wanted to fit into, whether joining the Payne family at the dinner table or his friends in the forgery supply room, weren’t always accessible. He tried not to think about it too much.

Adrianna bent down, long skirts swishing against the dry floor of the forge; she was close to his ears and Zayn tried not to flinch back - his fur had stood on end since she had first walked into the bakery, he realized. It did not go down.

“Well, Zayn, this is an unexpected development, but nothing to worry about. Lucky for me, I always have a back up plan. And now he should be arriving here shortly.” 

She reached out and ran a finger underneath Zayn’s collar; it took everything he had to hold steady, but his growl came back. 

Adrianna quickly stood up; Zayn saw that everyone had emerged from the supply room.

“Everything alright?” Liam asked, looking back and forth between Adrianna and Zayn. He walked over and putt a hand on Zayn’s neck, a finger sliding under the collar and he rubbed back and forth in a soothing manner, calming him down; the opposite effect of Adrianna touching him in the same spot. 

“Of course, just getting better acquainted with Zayn here.” Adrianna smiled at Liam. “I was just telling him I couldn’t wait for you to meet my brother, Adam. He’ll be arriving in the village tomorrow.”

Liam looked surprised. “I thought he was traveling?”

“He was. But he cut his trip short. I can’t wait for you to meet him. I think you two will have a lot in common.” 

Zayn looked at Rycof, who looked concerned; he was glad he wasn’t the only one.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter at a time! My new motto, ha. I really hope everyone is still enjoying this one, and there is some action in this chapter! Thank you so much for the kudos and comments and continuing along! Much love to all. :)

The day after Adrianna announced the imminent arrival of her brother Adam to the little village in the far north, Zayn found himself up early, reluctantly trudging through the woods with Niall, Harry and Louis. The day was cold and overcast and foggy, lending an eerie, otherworldly, aura to the woods, and the boys were heavily bundled up against the damp and chill. 

Zayn had never been enthusiastic about early mornings, and today was no exception. Harry had brought him a large twist roll, his favorite treat from the bakery, to appease him, but Zayn still felt groggy and grumpy, and even the crunchy snow under his paws and the cold air against his snout did little to wake him up. 

Liam was at the smithery, advising Lonne on the design of a new arrow head the forger was working on; even though Liam had been decreed a full fledged hunter with his new spear, as one of the best archers the village had seen in a long time, he often inputted on the creation of the newest arrow heads.

Zayn wondered if Rycof was at the smithery at this early hour; probably, as him and Emery were hellbent on becoming the best forgers for the village. The boys hadn’t said why they needed to borrow Zayn, but as he couldn’t exactly help at the smithery and didn’t have plans-other than a preference for sleeping in, he trotted alongside the boys, realizing their destination was the usual spot at the edge of the woods, the one hidden by a high hill that protected them from the worst of the wind, the little glen the boys had made their own hideaway.

Zayn fondly remembered the day Liam had brought him to this very spot and introduced him to the other boys; his life hadn’t been the same ever since. 

“Alright, alright, we are here today because of your problem, Zayn.” Louis, in typical dramatic fashion, grandly waved his arms towards Zayn, and everyone stopped walking, forming a little circle in the middle of their protected glen.

Zayn, ignoring the damp fog that hung low to the ground and tried to settle in his fur, attempted to roll his eyes, failed, and then with a huff sat down on his haunches and chewed the rest of his twist roll. He wasn’t fully awake, and he didn’t want to hear whatever nonsense Louis was about to spout.

Niall turned to Louis. “Are you sure about this?”

Louis scowled, eyebrows creasing. “Of course. I’m an expert when it comes to matters of the heart.”

Harry laughed loudly while Zayn swallowed the last bite of his roll, trying not to choke. His ears perked up and he looked at Louis.

Harry continued to chuckle. “Matters of the heart, an expert…”

“Harold please.” Louis scowl increased and he waved a gloved hand in the direction of Zayn again. “This is no laughing matter.”

“Alright, the way you phrase things, though.” Harry sobered up, then gave Louis his full attention.

With everyone looking at him, Louis smiled. “As I said, we are gathered here today to discuss Zayn’s matters of the heart.”

Zayn lifted his head and let out two short yips. No.

Louis shook his head. “Deny it all you want Zayn, like I said, I’m an expert in these things, and I couldn’t help but notice your recent changes in behavior.” He paused. “When it comes to your best friend Liam, that is.”

Zayn stood up on all four legs and let out a steady growl towards Louis, who waved a gloved hand in dismissal at the posturing.

“I first noticed it,” Louis spoke loudly, to be heard over Zayn’s growl, while Harry looked on in amusement and Niall looked vaguely concerned, “when Rycof took a fancy to Liam earlier this year.”

Zayn’s growl increased, and then he realized he was giving away his feelings, and he promptly stopped growling and sat back down on his haunches, the cold of the snow seeping through his fur and grounding him. His tail thumped against the snow in an agitated manner; he couldn’t help it though, he didn’t want his confusion to be laid bare like this, by Louis of all people.

“Everytime Rycof tried to get Liam alone, without his sister or us around, you would start to growl or get annoyed, but you would try to hide it.”

Zayn yipped two short, angry barks at Louis; the other boy ignored him and continued on.

“And then there were your long runs in the woods. Liam mentioned that instead of going for a solo run every so often, you started going almost every single day. He wanted to know what was wrong, but he also wanted to give you space.”

Zayn was quiet now, just watching Louis, whose face softened and he smiled, more gentle than his usual grin. “And then you haven’t taken off the collar from Liam’s ceremony. And then Adrianna came to town and I have never seen you act like that towards anyone - not even the band of thieves that passed through last year on their way to gold country.”

Niall spoke up. “We’re not saying all this to embarrass you, Zayn, we want to help you.”

Zayn tilted his head to the side in confusion, trying to ignore his own embarrassment. How could his friends, no matter how good their intentions, possibly help the tangle of emotions he felt towards Liam? He was a wolf, for goodness sake, and Liam was a hunter and a human, and that was that.

“We don’t think you’re really a wolf, Zayn,” Harry said. “And we know you like Liam as more than a friend.”

Zayn stared at each boy in turn. Nevermind his complicated feelings towards his best friend - of course he was a wolf, that much was clear -what did the boys possibly mean?

“Listen, Zayn, forget about Liam for a moment,” Niall said. “You can understand us, yeah?”

Zayn yipped softly in agreement.

“You understand that’s just not possible, right?” Niall smiled at him. “Take the sheep-herding dogs. We train them, and they obey the commands they’ve been trained on. And they might even understand their names, or at least, the tone we use when we call them. And they are very intelligent. But you - you understand every word we say - you and Liam could talk to each other from the moment you met - maybe not in the traditional sense, but you found a way to communicate.”

“We don’t think you were always a wolf,” Harry said. “We think at one time you were human, and something happened. Niall’s been doing research, you know.”

Niall shrugged. “Well, there’s been no recorded events of magic in this part of the world for over a hundred years, but in the archives and the old stories it says magic used to be a common practice this far north, several generations ago.”

“So we think,” Louis interjected, “that magic of some sort happened to you. And we’ve always wondered, of course, but this past year, seeing how you are with Liam, and all the things Niall’s read, now we think you weren’t always a wolf.”

“Or maybe,” Harry said thoughtfully, “he is a wolf but somehow was given the characteristics of a person?”

Louis shook his head. “Harold, come one now. What would be the point of that?”

“Dunno,” Harry shrugged. “But we have to look at it from all sides. Zayn, you still don’t remember what happened to you before you found Liam in the woods, do you?”

Zayn let out two sad yips, and his tail stopped thumping against the ground. 

“Let’s focus, yeah?” Niall said, turning to everyone. “Zayn, do you trust Rycof?”

Zayn let out a small growl, but finally gave out a single, reluctant yip.

“Do you trust Adrianna?” Louis’s eyes were intense.

Zayn didn’t hesitate - he let out two short yips.

“Why don’t you trust her?” Louis asked.

Zayn growled, frustrated. He didn’t know how to explain to the boys that every single instinct he had warned him against the strange woman.

“If Zayn doesn’t trust her, that’s enough for me,” Harry announced. “When has he ever not trusted somebody?”

“Are we all in agreement then?” Louis looked around the circle and Zayn let out a yip.

Louis nodded grimly. “Let’s go have a chat with Liam then, shall we?”

Zayn let our an alarmed growl, and Louis shook his head.

“Don’t worry, Zayn, not about that, we want to warn Liam about Adrianna. We’ll work on the other thing later, yeah?”

Zayn gave a short yip, but he wasn’t so sure. He tried again to think about a time before Liam, when he wandered the woods lonely and hungry. The memories were vague and full of shadows, but he could distantly remember that harsh time; but when he stretched his mind back to try and remember the time before the woods, as usual, everything became misty and he couldn’t grasp onto anything solid. 

He padded after the boys as they walked back towards the village, his mind a whirl of thoughts - he didn’t know what it meant that his friends had picked up on his change of heart towards Liam, while at the same time he felt helpless about the entire thing - had he really been anything but a wolf? It seemed so hard to wrap his mind around the idea.

As they walked towards the village, a small group walked towards them. Zayn felt his hackles rise, and he could scent Liam in the group before he could clearly distinguish everybody else.

As they walked closer, the two groups met in front of the village sign - Liam walked between Adrianna and a strange man with luminescent blue hair - the man was tall and had piercing black eyes, and between the hair and the haughty expression, this could only be her brother Adam, Zayn surmised. Behind them trailed the forgery twins, - Rycof, looking despondent and carrying a quiver of what must have been freshly made arrows, and Emery walking beside her brother, looking concerned at the proceedings. 

The two groups stopped, and it felt like a standoff. Adrianna and Adam each had an arm holding on to either side of Liam, and Zayn noticed that Liam’s normally bright brown eyes looked glazed over and cloudy. He started a low growl, hackles risen and tail up, and Louis gave him a reassuring squeeze at the nape of his neck. 

“Why hello gentlemen. And Zayn of course.” Adrianna looked imperiously at the group. “This is my brother, Adam, who cut his travels short to join me in this quaint village of yours.” 

“Hello, all, and thanks for the warm welcome, especially Liam here.” Adam took his arm out from Liam’s arm, and then casually threw it over Liam’s shoulder, while Adrianna released his other arm and took a careful step back. Zayn shook off Louis, and took a step closer, his growl intensifying. All his fur stood on end again, and his instincts screamed that Liam was in grave danger, and even though he couldn’t articulate why, it was all due to the strange siblings with the brightly colored hair.

“We actually have an announcement to make - Liam here has accepted my formal proposal to begin the courting process,” Adam’s voice was smooth, but somehow grating at the same time. 

Liam didn’t react or say a word, he stood there under Adam’s arm, eyes unfocused. The boys and the twins collectively let out a gasp at Adam’s proclamation, and Zayn let out a sharp bark, and tried to step forward to grab Liam’s sleeve, to snap him out of whatever had him so out of it, but Adrianna glided in front of her brother and held up a hand. Zayn froze in his steps, and tried to move forward, but found his paws would not lift from the ground. Adrianna’s hand was bare, with no glove on despite the bitter cold, and Zayn could see the veins in her hands start to glow a deep purple. But how was that possible?

“What is going on here -” Louis started to yell, but then was abruptly silenced as Adrianna raised her hand, lighting up the dull winter landscape as the purple glow emanated and pulsed through her veins, and Louis was thrown back by an invisible force into a nearby snow bank.

Harry ran to Louis, while Niall ran towards Adrianna, and Zayn was utterly lost for a moment until he realized, as he watched Niall fly back as well - as if jerked by an invisible hand - that the quick motions of Adrianna’s glowing purple hand was behind the magic, no matter how impossible it seemed. 

Zayn lept towards Adrianna, suddenly able to move while her attention was distracted, his mouth open wide and fangs at the ready, but before he could reach her Adam shoved Liam away from him, toppling him to the ground, and suddenly the arrows from Rycof’s quiver flew through the air towards Zayn, unaided by a bow, as Adam held up a hand, his veins glowing the same bright blue as his hair.

Rycof jumped on Adam’s back as an arrow pierced Zayn’s shoulder and another one grazed his leg, the rest of the arrows flying wide; he let out a strangled howl, and stumbled in the snow, but forced himself to make the final leap to Adrianna.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Emery attempt to help her brother take down Adam, but both twins were flung through the air just as Zayn sank his teeth into Adrianna’s raised, glowing arm. She screamed, a horrible sound that pierced through the quiet of the fog, and echoed against the trees, and shook Zayn free. 

As he tried to bite her again, he found his jaws clamped shut by a glowing muzzle made of purple rope; he tried to open his mouth but the muzzle gripped him tighter, and he let out a whine, finding himself lifted up in the air, nothing to suspend him, as his paws frantically moved, trying to reach solid ground.

“You stupid, stupid wolf,” Adrianna yelled, and he saw that her arm he’d torn into had blood pouring from the wound, but to Zayn’s alarm it was bright purple, and her hand continued to glow. “Your family made the wrong choice, and now you shall pay.”

Zayn had no idea what she was talking about, and then he felt his throat close up as he struggled to breath, but his jaw was bound by the magic twine, and his paws furiously stretched through the air but there was nothing to grip on to. 

“Zayn!” Liam cried out, his stupor seemingly lifted, as he rose from the ground where Adam had left him. 

Zayn tried to turn his head towards Liam - he saw Niall and Harry and Louis making a run for Adam, just as Emery and Rycof were also rushing for him, and then he saw Liam pick up an arrow from the ground and run towards Adrianna as she jerked his head back to facing her. 

“Look at me wolf!” she screamed, eyes gone coal black and hair glowing as bright as the purple blood from the wound that continued to drip from her arm into the snow. 

The next moment, Zayn watched as Liam stopped several feet in front of her and threw the arrow he held; it’s aim was straight and true, and it plunged into Adrianna’s heart.

Several things happened at once. 

Adrianna let out a terrible, heart-rending scream, and her jaw dropped open, revealing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, as she fell back into the snow. 

Zayn stayed suspended in mid-air for a long, long moment, before the rope around his jaws fell away, and he howled as he felt every bone in his body start to snap and break.

He fell to the earth in a heap and everything went black.

***

Liam felt like he had woken out of a trance - one minute he thought he was having a strange dream, and the next moment he blinked and was outside the village by the welcome sign, surrounded by chaos and noise and fear and his friends in danger. He had no idea what had happened.

Liam looked up in horror at Zayn; the wolf was suspended in mid-air with his jaw muzzled shut, bleeding from an arrow embedded in his shoulder. He looked around to see his friends rushing a strange man with blue hair - Liam couldn’t even remember how he had arrived at this point or who that man was - but he took one look at Adrianna, bleeding purple and aglow with purple, hand held up with Zayn in front of her, the wolf in pain and unable to move or cry out, and he realized, whether this was a dream or not, his best friend was in danger. 

“Zayn!” he cried out.

Without thinking he picked up an arrow from the ground and ran towards Adrianna.

As if from a great distance, Liam heard her yell ‘Look at me, wolf!’ to Zayn, and he threw the arrow as hard as he could, aiming for her heart. He couldn’t say in that moment why he went for her heart, but it he was running on pure instinct. 

The arrow hit true, piercing through her heart - she let out truly terrible scream, and lowered her injured arm, mouth full sharp teeth gaped open as she fell backwards towards the snowy ground - but Liam had already turned away from her to look at Zayn - the wolf remained in the air for one long, torturous moment as the binds around his muzzle fell away, and then Liam watched as Zayn’s long legs and curved back seemed to snap and reshape themselves in mid-air, before the wolf crumpled and fell to the ground.

“Zayn!” Liam had never felt such absolute panic, but when he reached Zayn the panic was quickly replaced by confusion. Where Zayn had fallen lay a man, the wolf nowhere to be seen.

The man was bare naked, brown skin stark against the white snow. He had dark hair and brows and his eyes were closed, but he was bleeding profusely from a wound where an arrow was stuck in his right shoulder. 

“Liam watch out!”

Louis’s voice cried out from somewhere behind him - Liam turned around to see Niall, Harry, Louis, Rycof, and Emery all being thrown off of Adam - who looked like a vision of terror; his hair was blue flames, his hands glowed blue, and he looked over at his sister, unmoving in the snow, purple blood flowing like a river beneath her body. 

“Noooo - Adrianna!” he ran towards her body, and gathered her limp form in his arms. He looked around at the group, who gaped at him.

“You will rue this day, I promise you that!” His eyes were black and his voice was thunder. And with a loud crack, he disappeared; there was nothing to suggest the two had ever been there, except the snow was stained a deep purple.

Everyone came running over. 

“Where’s Zayn?” Emery said, as everyone stared at the naked man lying in the snow.

“I don’t … I don’t know what’s going on.” Liam tried to keep his hysteria at bay.

“That, mates, appears to be Zayn.” Louis’s voice was grim. “Liam, look at the arrow in his shoulder.”

“But it can’t be. I don’t-” Liam seemed to shake himself. He couldn't imagine how cold the man was, and he was in danger of frostbite, his bare skin against the ice cold of the frozen ground.

He took off his heavy winter coat, and carefully wrapped up the man in the snow, conscious of his injured shoulder, then gently lifted him, bridal style, and slowly stood up. Liam tried to take control of the situation. 

“He needs Asa, can one of you run ahead -”

“I will,” Rycof looked ruffled and bruised, but he didn’t hesitate, and Emery gave her brother’s shoulder a squeeze and Liam gave him a brief smile as he watched him sprint to the healer’s home in the village. 

Liam started walking, carrying the weight of the man wrapped in his coat. He looked down - was this man really Zayn? Liam looked at his face - his eyes were still closed, and his lashes were so long they cast shadows on his face. Liam had a sudden desire to see what his eyes looked like - would they be the same shade of hazel that Zayn the wolf’s had been?

“Is everyone in one piece?” Liam tried to walk as fast as he could while not jostling the limp man in his arms, but he looked around to see how his friends were doing. 

“I mean, lost all my dignity being tossed through the air like a rag doll and landing on me arse, but yeah, more or less.” Louis huffed as he walked and rubbed at his backside. 

“Are they - magic? Are they witches? I didn’t think witches existed anymore.” Emery’s voice trembled.

Harry put an arm around her in comfort. “I dunno, but Niall’s been doing research, right?”

“Well, according to the archives magic and witches existed a hundred years ago, even in our village, but there’s been no mention of it since. But I don’t think that means it’s gone forever. More like, just went underground.”

Liam looked down - he couldn’t reconcile his best friend Zayn, the loyal, fluffy white wolf, with the man in his arms with the long lashes and delicate cheekbones. 

And yet.

His shoulder with the arrow in it was the same side as Zayn’s injured shoulder had been, and Liam had watched … well, he wasn’t sure what, but SOMETHING had happened in the air to Zayn’s body, almost as if it was trying to re-form or re-shape itself. 

“Hey!” It was Rycof, running towards them, with Asa, the healer, right behind him. They were only a short distance away from his home where his medicines and tools were. 

“This man needs help! The arrow is still in his shoulder,” Liam tried to hurry, as Asa took one look at Zayn’s shoulder then barked at Rycof to go grab his apprentice. 

Rycof was off again, and Liam hurried to the healer’s house, as the man in his arms groaned. Liam gripped tighter, and felt his heart lurch.

***

Zayn came to slowly; blinking his eyes open took several minutes until the room came into focus. His first thought was of how cold he was. He felt chilled to the very bone.

He recognized Liam’s bedroom. But he was in Liam’s bed, on his back. And that was strange - where was Liam? Zayn turned his head to the side, and that felt different, too.

The room was empty, a single lit candle cast deep shadows on the stone walls. Zayn cautiously moved his limbs, and other than a throbbing ache in his right shoulder, everything seemed to be in working order, but his legs didn’t feel right either. 

Zayn looked down, and everything hit him at once - instead of his long, fluffy white fur and front legs, he saw long brown arms, and the rest of his narrow, very human-looking body, was tucked under a thick blanket, but there was no mistaking the fact that his fur had been replaced by skin, and he was no longer a wolf. Zayn panicked and sat up, feeling a spell of dizziness almost overtake him.

Liam walked into the room, holding a blanket in his arms.

“Zayn, you’re awake!” he exclaimed, hurrying over to the bed and setting the blanket down. “How are you feeling?”

Zayn looked away from Liam, down to his hands. His HANDS. Which had fingers. That he could flex. He tried to speak, his throat felt dry and unused. 

“Liam. Liam.” His voice was a hoarse rasp. He looked into concerned, kind brown eyes, and took a deep breath. 

“I remember everything.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't leave everyone on a cliff hanger for long, so here is Interlude 2, which will not explain everything, but will explain some things! :) Serious thank you to the kudos and comments - they are much appreciated and motivating, as always. Love you all.

***  
INTERLUDE TWO: {in the not too distant past}  
***

The Tale of the Curse of the Malik Kingdom

Once upon a time, in a snowy kingdom in the far north at the southern edge of the Great Woods, a young prince was born.

Prince Zayn was the King and Queen’s first child, and there would be three more children to come, his younger sisters.

But he was the eldest, and the official heir to the kingdom.

The Malik kingdom was small but peaceful, and they treated the tiny village at the base of their stone castle well - offering protection and pitching in and helping with the harvesting and hunting duties.

Prince Zayn and his sisters, the Princesses, had an ideal childhood, playing with the children of the servants and villagers and running freely throughout the kingdom. Like most villages or kingdoms that far north, they had little interaction with the outside world - their news of other places came from the occasional hunter or traveler or messenger on their way to gold country or on their way through the Great Woods.

Zayn would listen to the tales of other, strange places, and while he found them fascinating and thought about seeing other parts of the world, he knew his duty was with his kingdom; however, he did not feel shackled or held down by obligation; instead, he loved his small kingdom and looked forward to the day he would help rule. But for now, he wanted to enjoy his freedom from responsibility as long as he could. His father would not hand over the keys to the kingdom for many years to come.

On the twelfth anniversary of Zayn’s birth and at the height of the long winter's snow, a visitor arrived at the castle. In the throne room the King and Queen welcomed a strange guest - a tall woman with coal black eyes and bright orange hair, of a color not found in nature. She wore a thick floor-length coat of black fur and she was regal and haughty. 

Zayn and his sisters - Doniya, Waliyha, and Safaa, sat beside their parents on their own miniature thrones. Zayn had never seen orange hair before and he stared in fascination at their visitor. 

“Thank you for welcoming me to your lovely kingdom, I am Queen Ella, and I have traveled from the far north, from the Kingdom of the Caves. I have come to make a proposition regarding young prince Zayn.”

The King and Queen exchanged glances; they had heard tales from the Kingdom, which was further north than the Great Woods even stretched - it was a land of ice and caves and frozen oceans. The tales, told by grizzled hunters, had not been good - tales of magic and witchcraft, but not the good kind, rather, the dark kind that sought to blight out the light.

“What is your proposition, Queen Ella?” King Malik looked cautiously at the strange woman and squeezed his wife’s hand tightly after seeing the apprehension on her face.

“I have a young daughter, Adrianna, who is Zayn’s age. She is beautiful and smart, and dare I say, her powers will grow to be even stronger than my own. We should arrange a match between Adrianna and Zayn. And when they are both of age they can be joined in marriage and she can help run the Malik kingdom.”

Zayn made a loud noise and started to rise to his feet, but a stern look from his father had him sitting back down on his throne.

There was a long pause in the throne room. No one spoke for a full minute. Finally Queen Malik spoke.

“Thank you so much for that generous offer, Queen Ella, but we will have to respectfully decline. Zayn is not going to be matched with another kingdom or royalty; it is our hope that he finds someone from the village to settle down and run the kingdom with. But thank you, once again, for coming all this way, with your offer.”

There was another pause, and then Queen Ella spoke.

“I have a son, Adam, who is only a year younger than Adrianna. If that is more to Zayn’s liking, that can be arranged as well?”

Zayn felt vindicated from his mother’s defense; his parents had already sat him down when he was younger and explained that while not every kingdom was like theirs, in the Malik kingdom, they could marry for love. Or not marry at all. The choice was theirs. He had not thought about whether he would settle down with a man or a woman or anybody - that time seemed too far away to dream about.

“Thank you, but whomever Zayn chooses, that's if he chooses anybody at all - we want him to choose someone of his own liking. He is not going to be matched or arranged with anybody. That it is how it has been for many years, and that is the gift we give all of our children.”

Queen Ella raised an eyebrow. “I think my offer has been more than generous, and I think it would be best for our two kingdoms to be united in this fashion. Children are not to be given a choice in matters like these when kingdoms are at stake.”

“But we are not in a war right now?" Queen Malik tilted her head. "There have been no wars in the northern kingdoms or villages for over a hundred years. There is nothing at stake?”

Queen Ella's voice suddenly boomed out across the great room, echoing into the rafters. “There is nothing at stake at the moment. But, turn down my offer, Maliks, and there will be consequences to pay. Your kingdom is at the southwestern point of the Great Woods, and mine is at the northwestern point. I will not be impeded in my quest to join our kingdoms together. I will ask one more time - will Zayn be promised to Adrianna or to Adam? It is your choice. I am giving you that much - a choice in this matter. Say yes, and your kingdom will be safe under our protection. But refuse me, refuse this offer, and you and your children will pay the price.”

“Pay the price?” King Malik stood up. “You come to our kingdom, we welcome you into our home, and you make demands and threats? Leave. Leave now, and never return.”

Queen Ella seemed to grow in height; Zayn watched as her hair glowed orange, and then the glow spread down her black fur coat and into her hands. She raised her hands up, and Zayn saw sparks of bright orange leap from her fingertips. Suddenly scared, he stood up and frantically motioned to his sisters to run out the back entrance of the room, behind the dais where the thrones stood. They started to run, but it was too late.

The next thing he knew, Zayn and his sisters were floating in the air, and Queen Ella chanted words he couldn’t understand. Little Safaa, only five years old, cried out, and Doniya and Waliyha wore twin looks of terror - all the children flew through the air as they were held aloft by Queen Ella as the king and queen looked on in horror.

“Guards! Guards!” The cries of the king and queen were useless - Zayn watched as the doors to the throne room slammed shut and locked with a quick wave of Queen Ella’s hand that was not currently holding them in the air- the guards in the room raced towards her, but with another flick of her wrist, they stopped, mid run,and turned to stone statues. Safaa’s crying got louder, and Doniya and Waliyha started crying as well.

Zayn twisted in the air, now facing his parents - he wanted to protect his sisters, but he was powerless, floating in the middle of the throne room.

“This is your doing, you understand? You are the cause of this, just remember. If you won’t give us your kingdom, we will have to take it for ourselves. And your children shall be thrown to the wolves, while you watch it happen with your very eyes.”

And with that proclamation, Zayn felt his entire body light up as if on fire - then he screamed as every bone in his back and limbs seemed to snap and re-align; the last thing he heard were the screams of his sisters and parents, and then everything went dark. 

***  
END OF INTERLUDE  
***

Zayn had to stop several times during the story to take a sip of water - proffered by Liam who paid rapt attention the entire length of the tale - due to the disuse of his voice from years of barking and yips, but not speaking actual words. 

When he finished, he looked at Liam, who stared at him in disbelief.

“I don’t know what to say Zayn. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry this happened to you - your family. To all of you.”

Liam’s eyes looked so sad and Zayn felt a strong wave of affection and love for his best friend. But he was human now and time was of the essence.

His throat hurt, but he forced the words out. “I don’t know what happened to my family, Liam. I don’t know if my sisters survived, I don’t remember how I escaped, I don’t know what she did to my parents. And Adam is still out there. He will probably seek revenge, and I don’t know -” Zayn’s voice cracked. He felt the tears run down his face and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

“Oh Zayn.” Liam had been sitting in a chair next to the bed while Zayn told his sad tale, but now he stood up and sat down on the bed - he carefully put an arm around his waist, avoiding his injured shoulder, and gently tried to wipe the tears off his face. Zayn was used to years of Liam scratching his ears, but this was all together something new. At long last he could speak and interact with Liam the way he had yearned to, yet none of that mattered if his family wasn’t alive and safe. 

“I’ll help you. We’ll all help you. I’m sure the boys will want to come. Let’s go find your family, yeah?”

Zayn blinked back more tears. “You would do that, for me?”

“Zayn.” Liam’s voice was soft. “It’s the least we could do, after all you’ve done for the people in the village. After all you’ve done for me. You’ve saved my life, yeah? But, you’re our friend. Of course we’ll help. Let’s go on a quest, shall we?”

Zayn tried not to sniffle, with Liam’s face so close to his own and his warm breath puffing against the tear tracks on his face, but he couldn’t help it. He loudly sniffled, then tried to pull himself together.

“Yeah, a quest. Thank you, Leeyum.” His voice was giving out, and he ended Liam's name on a whisper.

“Anything for you Zayn.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience on the updates - real life has been hectic. I hope you enjoy this chapter! And my love as always for the kudos and comments!!

Several days after the wild turn of events with Adrianna, the morning of the quest to find Zayn’s family dawned bright and clear and cold; the moon hung in the pale blue sky long after the sun had risen, and the edge of the great woods glimmered with an early morning mist that clung to the trees, creating a sinister effect; even though Zayn knew the woods like the back of his paw - his hand, he corrected himself, he had hands now - the woods were distant and unfriendly on this important day. 

Zayn looked up at the moon, his other good friend besides the North Star during his lonely days in the woods before he found Liam, and took a deep breath. He was going in search of his family. Around him, the others that would join him and Liam on their journey made their final preparations, tightening snow-shoe laces and sharpening spears and securing quivers, ready to face the woods and all the creatures and danger contained within their vast expanse.

Liam stood next to Zayn - he had rarely left his side since he'd turned back to being human. Harry, Niall, and Louis were close by and kept sneaking incredulous looks at him, and he tried not to be irritated by it - he knew they were having a hard time reconciling his human body with his prior wolf form, even if they were the ones to originally believe Zayn was something more than a typical wolf. Segar and Greg also joined the boys on Zayn's quest, volunteering to help out during the trek through the woods as well as helping them if the vengeful Adam was to make an appearance. This was much to the relief of all their parents as Segar was the best hunter in the village and Greg wasn’t far behind, and no one knew what Adam was capable of in his furious grief. 

Zayn’s heart warmed to see the entire village turn out to send their little group off with well wishes and hugs at the start of the perilous journey.

“What’s wrong Zayn?” Liam asked, reaching over to adjust the buttons on Zayn’s coat collar, making sure his neck was covered.

He wasn't used to navigating buckles and laces - his dexterity was rusty after long years without opposable thumbs or the need for any clothing. Under his coat and under the long sleeves of his shirt, he had the collar Liam had given him wrapped around his wrist several times, the buckle adjusted so it wasn’t too loose - it was too big to wear around his neck and Zayn didn’t want Liam to think it strange he continued to wear it, so he had turned it into a bracelet. He had found it when he had woken up, placed on the table besides the bed he rested on, and he'd quickly grabbed it and put it on his wrist. Liam didn't notice, or, if he had, he didn't say anything about what happened to the collar. 

“Um, well.” Zayn’s voice was no longer as scratchy as when he had first turned, but it was still a curious feeling, being able to speak again. “So many people turned out this morning, it makes me nervous.”

“Zayn.” Liam sounded exasperated. “The village loves you. Yes, our families are here to see us off, but they’re also here to see you off - as is the rest of the village. You belong to the village as much as any of us, yeah? They all love you. Doesn’t matter whether you're a wolf or a man. They love you, Zayn, either way.”

Zayn felt his cheeks heat, and looked down into the snow - another thing he couldn’t get used to was being able to talk to Liam, like really talk to him, and have a full conversation back and forth. He didn’t think he would ever take it for granted. 

Zayn felt Liam gently lift his chin up with one gloved finger, and looked steadily into his eyes. “I’m serious - you could turn into a saber tooth, and it wouldn’t change the fact that we all love you.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I think if I was a saber that might change some things, yeah?:

“Nah, it wouldn’t.” Liam grinned. “I would tame you, and we’d still be best friends.”

He shook his head, and batted away Liam’s hand. “You’d have to repaint the sign.”

Liam shrugged. “That’d be the easy part. Feeding you would be the hard part.”

They were both giggling, when Liam’s parents came over.

“Be careful boys,” Liam’s mother admonished, enveloping Zayn in a warm hug, before turning to her son.

Liam’s father hugged him, and then Ruth was next.

Ruth whispered into his ear, “Take care of him, yeah?” and Zayn met her eyes and earnestly nodded. “Can’t wait to talk to you and get to know you all over again, Zayn. Good luck, yeah? I know you’ll find your family, I just know it.”

Zayn felt his heart swell for this family that took him in, even as a wild wolf, all those years ago, and the village that in turn embraced him. It was too much - he felt his eyes start to water, and he furiously blinked. 

“Hey, it’s alright, we got you Zayn,” and then Liam’s firm arm wrapped around his shoulder and his soft voice was in his ear, and everything was warm and overwhelming. He tried to wipe his eyes with the back of his gloved hands, and Liam turned them so they weren’t facing everybody, but instead faced the dark expanse of misty woods. “Another adventure, yeah? You and me and the boys, and this one will have a happy ending. I won’t let it end any other way.”

Zayn tried to laugh through his tears. “You certain?”

“Absolutely.” Liam didn’t hesitate. “Years from now, when Niall is telling our brave tale to children gathered around a campfire, I know he will end it with - and they all lived happily ever after.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Zayn said softly He felt the pull of emotion and longing for his family, and for his own happy ending, rush through him. 

“C’mon!” Segar’s booming voice rang out. “We’re already behind schedule.”

Zayn and Liam rolled their eyes at each other. Segar may be fiercely loyal to Zayn now, and the fact that he insisted upon leading their little group made Zayn’ happy, but he could still be an overbearing ass.

“Alright, alright,” Liam yelled back, before turning back to Zayn. “Ready?”

“Yes, ready.” Zayn squared his shoulders, and hesitantly began to walk forward, the snow-shoes hindering his progress. Walking on two legs was one thing, walking in the snow-shoes was another. He knew how awkward he looked, but shook that off - his family was out there, and nothing was going to stop him now. 

After a full day of walking, Zayn was exhausted. Where was his wolf stamina when he needed it? He wasn't wolf anymore, but keeping some of his leftover strength would have been nice. They found a nice clearing to make camp, and Segar barked out orders and the other boys rolled their eyes behind his back, but never the less followed along. Liam was setting up the tents, with help from Niall. 

Zayn watched him in admiration - Liam was so efficient and capable. And then there was Harry and Louis, who had tried to set up a good fire but the wood kept toppling over and they kept laughing at each other. Zayn shook his head.

Greg had returned from the woods into the clearing, several rabbits in hand. Segar finally took over the fire, and before long they gathered around the flames, eating pieces of hot rabbit along with the bread and ale they had packed.

“So Zayn,” Louis began in a tone that meant nothing good was to follow. “Since you had a choice between Adrianna and Adam, which way would you have gone?”

Everyone else gave Louis looks of horror.

“Mate, they’re evil!” Niall said, looking at Louis in disbelief.

“Really, Louis?” Harry was frowning, and it was never good when Harry frowned.

“No, No - you all misunderstand.” Louis shook a piece of rabbit, before realizing what he was doing. “I meant, which way would you lean? Men or woman?”

“You can’t just ask people that Louis -” Greg’s voice was stern.

Segar just sat there, methodically eating and ignoring all the teenagers around him. Zayn wished he could do the same. 

“Just curious mate!” Louis turned to Zayn with an apologetic look on his face. “Sorry, Zayn, wasn’t trying to make you feel uncomfortable.”

Zayn shrugged. He didn’t know if his years as a wolf had anything to do with it, but he didn’t really think in terms of men or women. He glanced at Liam, sitting next to him, who paused in his eating and watched Zayn. 

“Dunno. Doesn’t really matter to me. Men or women, I mean. I think it’s just about the person, yeah.” 

Zayn mumbled the last part and looked down, focusing on the remaining pieces of meat in his hand. When he looked back up, Liam still watched him. They looked at each other for a long moment before Liam got up to put another log on the fire. 

The conversation abated, and the all the men stared into the fire, their thoughts their own. Zayn wondered if they were like himself - wondering about how long the journey to find Zayn’s family would take. And even if they were able to find Zayn’s home, what would be left of the castle and his family? Were his sisters alive? His parents? He choked down the rest of his supper.

“Tired, going to bed early.” He went behind a tree to relieve himself, then headed into one of the three tents Liam had set up. He wondered who would be joining him. He hoped it was Liam.

A little while later, the flap to his tent opened, and Liam’s face was briefly back-lit by the fire behind him, golden and familiar, before the flap was fastened shut and the tent was plunged back into darkness.

“You awake Zayn?”

Zayn listened to Liam's noises as he took off his boots and crawled into the other bedroll next to his. He turned in the darkness, facing Liam’s shadow. 

“Yeah, still awake.”

They were quiet for a moment. 

“I still don’t remember what happened.” Liam’s voice was warm in the quiet of the tent. “I mean, when Adrianna and Adam… tricked me? Hypnotized me? I’m not sure.”

Zayn opened his mouth, but paused. He thought back to the day that set his life on a new course. So much had happened in the last week - Liam’s ceremony and the red wolf tattoo. Adrianna coming to their little village. And of course his transformation back.

Liam continued. “One moment I was in the forgery with Rycof and Emery, and then Adrianna walked in with that strange brother of hers. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground and you were in the air, an arrow in your shoulder and that strange purple rope wrapped around your muzzle - er mouth. My heart almost stopped, I swear - I couldn’t breathe when I saw you like that. And then after I threw the arrow at Adrianna, and it looked like all your bones were breaking - I thought I had lost my best friend, Zayn I -”

Liam’s voice cracked on his name, and Zayn didn’t think before he reached across the short distance between their bodies on the floor of the tent. He pulled Liam into an embrace, and he marveled that he could do this now. Liam buried his face in Zayn’s neck, like he used to when Zayn was a wolf, except now he felt the warm puffs of his friend’s breath on his own bare neck, the sensation different but thrilling, and he tried not to move as Liam took comfort in his arms. He smelled Liam’s hair, and he felt his strong arms reach around him, embracing him back.

“We’re both here now, yeah?” Zayn tried to comfort Liam. “Do you remember the summers we would lay on our backs and look up at the sky, and you would teach me about the constellations?”

Liam’s voice was muffled, head tucked into Zayn’s neck. “Of course I remember.” He sounded reproachful, and Zayn smiled. 

“Well, this sounds sad, but when we used to do that, I loved hearing about the different stars and constellations. And I remember being so frustrated, because I couldn’t tell you that - and you can’t make fun - before I found you in the woods, my best friend was the North Star. I don’t know how to explain it, but there were nights when I would wander the woods, and I felt so alone - no family. No friends, no one around but other creatures of the woods -” 

Zayn felt Liam hold him tighter in the darkness of the tent, and he smiled and continued. 

“- but I always had the North Star, yeah? And the moon. They were my only friends. But the moon wasn’t always there to guide me. But, as long as the clouds didn’t hide it, the north star was a constant. My best friend until you. And every summer I wanted to tell you how special the star was to me, until I met you . But I could never talk to you how I wanted. And now I can finally talk to you, Liam, and I don't know where to begin-” Zayn trailed off. 

It was the most he'd said to Liam since he'd relayed the tale of the curse laid upon his family. 

Liam lifted his head out of Zayn’s neck, and Zayn could make out the outline of his features, Liam’s face so, so close to his own. 

“You will never be alone again, Zayn, I promise you that. Never. I, I was selfish.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“When I got my wolf tattoo. Everyone thought I was going to get the lion, you know?”

Zayn held his breath. He had wanted to ask Liam about the wolf tattoo ever since the ceremony. He waited for Liam to continue. 

“But I didn’t. I got a wolf. In honor of you. You saved my life in the woods, but more than that - you were my best friend. And I loved you as a wolf, but secretly, I wanted - I wanted more than a wolf companion. I wished, night after night, that you could talk to me. That you could be a person, instead of a wolf. I knew how smart you were, and I knew we communicated the best we could. But I wanted to hear your thoughts, your opinions, in your voice. I want to know everything about you Zayn - and I know that’s selfish. You probably don’t even want to be my friend, now that you aren’t stuck with me, and I-”

Zayn cut him off, pulling Liam into another tight hug. He tried to laugh, but felt close to tears. 

“Leeyum," and being able to say his name out loud was everything to Zayn. "Don’t be an idiot. Of course I want to be your friend. Did you listen to anything I said?” Zayn smiled. “All those times I wanted to talk to you, and now I can - it's overwhelming.”

“But you’re a prince Zayn. I mean, of course you are. You look like a prince, you look like a painting. And I’m just a simple hunter that lives in a small village - “ 

“You really are an idiot, huh?” Zayn sighed, heart beating fast at Liam’s easy compliments. He loved his best friend, very very much. Too much. “It doesn’t matter that I’m a prince. You’re my best friend, always will be.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Liam said, but he was laughing, and hugging Zayn, and the tent felt very, very warm, and he couldn't believe the easy physical affection the two had maintained when Zayn was a wolf translated so easily into their friendship now - it felt so natural to hold Liam in his arms, and be held in return.

The last thought Zayn had before he fell asleep wrapped up in Liam was, as much as he had loved the North Star, he felt so lucky to have a friend that shone as bright, that held as steady, and was always there for him.

The next morning Zayn woke up with Liam plastered against him. It was uncomfortable; his one arm was numb where it tucked under Liam’s body - but he felt better and more optimistic since he'd first transformed and woke up with an ache in his heart for his family. He knew, that with Liam and the other boys by his side, he would find his family and be reunited with them, no matter how impossible the journey seemed. 

They set out, Segar in the lead and Greg bringing up the rear of the party. Niall walked behind Segar, occasionally giving directions from the scrolls he carried, the results of his frantic research in the archives after Zayn had woken up. Niall had explained that - with Harry and Louis’s help - he had found what they thought might be Zayn’s kingdom on ancient maps that mentioned the royal house of Malik. 

There had been no contact between the Malik kingdom and their little village for hundreds of years, but at one time there was, and maybe their village had even been under the protection of the kingdom in their far north corner of the world, or so the scrolls alluded. Niall thought it would be a weeks journey on foot, cutting through the woods to the far northwest corner that no one in their village had seen for generations. 

The days passed clear and cold, and the weather held until the fourth day when the snow fell in large soft flakes and didn’t stop as the group trudged on, the bare branches above them and the silence of the woods all around them. At night Zayn cuddled up with Liam in the warmth of their tent, after a quick dinner eaten in front of the fire. The other boys held their tongues about the tent sharing, even Louis, which was surprising, and Zayn was grateful, as their nights were spent in long, quiet conversation getting to know each other all over again before they drifted off to sleep. 

Zayn would tell Liam tales of his younger sisters and himself getting into trouble in their castle and in the village that surrounded their kingdom - talking about his family was hard, but it also helped ease the ache in his heart - Zayn refused to believe anything other than his family had survived the attack of the witches - he didn’t know if the rest of his family were wolves, but regardless, he had to believe they were alive in some form. 

Liam would tell him the tales of the years they spent together, and ask Zayn what was going through his head at the time, what his thoughts were, and his opinion of the other villagers, such as how his views on Segar had changed. 

Liam recounted the tale of Zayn saving Segar, calling him brave and fearless, and Zayn was grateful for the cloak of the dark night, so he could hide the warmth in his cheeks brought on by Liam’s endless praise and compliments.

One night Liam asked him about Rycoft. 

“You don’t like him, why?”

“He’s fine,” Zayn whispered. 

They were in the tent, curled up into each other, and he was running his hand through Liam’s short hair, a nice change from all the years Liam had run his hands through Zayn’s fur.

“Zayn, be honest. You never had a problem with Emerys, or Lonne at the forge. So why Rycoft?”

Zayn squirmed. He would be honest, but only up to a point. “I don’t hate him, or anything. I guess I was just - jealous.”

“Jealous? Of Rycoft?”

Liam’s tone was hard to read. 

“I mean.” Zayn gently scratched the soft hairs at the back of Liam's neck, and snuggled further into the warm furs that kept out the frigid chill of the woods. The snow had fallen all day, and hadn’t stopped after the sun had set and the fire was lit. “Not jealous, exactly. Worried he was going to take my best friend away from me.”

Liam shifted, turning and moving up so his face was in front of Zayn’s - he couldn’t really see but he could feel the warm breath on his face. Whenever Liam did this, talking softly with their faces so close to each other in the dark, Zayn’s heart would start to speed up and his palms would sweat. 

“That would never happen. You’re my best friend, Zayn, not Rycoft. Besides - you never worried about Harry, Niall, or Louis stealing me away?”

“That’s different.” Zayn took a deep breath. “Rycoft wanted you as more than a friend.”

“Oh.” There was a long pause. “Are you sure?”

Zayn rolled his eyes in the dark. And it was wonderful, such a little thing, that he could indeed now roll his eyes to his heart’s content. “The moon could tell Rycoft liked you, c’mon Liam. Everyone knew.”

“Maybe.” 

Liam didn’t speak again, but he burrowed his face into Zayn’s neck and they were both quiet. Zayn wanted to say something else, but he didn’t want to ruin the quiet between them - it felt both precious and fragile. He sighed, looking up, but there was nothing but the roof of the tent above him. Zayn pretended he could see the sky and the stars - he could really use the guidance right now.

The seventh day of their quest dawned, and the snow stopped falling. The great woods were hushed, as they always were after a long snowfall. 

Zayn had mastered the snow-shoes after the first several days; walking on top of the soft powder was second nature by now. 

“Hey, look up ahead!” Niall’s voice traveled down the line from where he and Segar led the pack.

Up ahead was a small clearing, and in the middle of the clearing was a log cabin. It was the first sign of other people or civilization since they had left their village.

Zayn felt in his bones that his family’s kingdom was close. 

Liam looked at him and squeezed his shoulder, and Zayn knew he understood.

They approached the cabin, with Segar calling out, “Friendly travelers looking for directions,” so as not to alarm any occupants.

Zayn noticed the door had a curious push lever, instead of the traditional door knob. It reminded him of the one Liam had fashioned for his wolf paws to use, many years ago. He had never seen another one like it in the village.

“Hey, everyone, I think-” Zayn started to call out, but was interrupted by a low growl behind him.

He turned, Liam next to him and the rest of the group behind them crowded around the doorway of the log cabin, to face the source of the growl.

A wolf, fur a pristine snow white, just as Zayn's had been, stood at the edge of the clearing, a steady low growl coming from it’s mouth and its teeth bared, sharp canines on full display. The wolf was smaller in stature than Zayn had been.

“Steady,” he heard Greg say, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the hunter had drawn an arrow, set in his bow, always at the ready. He saw Segar had his spear poised to throw.

Zayn’s head whipped back to the white wolf, in time to see a brown wolf and then a gray wolf emerge from the trees to flank the first wolf. All three wolves stood at the edge of the clearing. There was something about the three wolves that was so familiar...

“Don’t move, boys,” Segar said lowly, raising the spear.

Before he could even think, Zayn ran towards the wolves, as fast as his snow-shoes would carry him.

“Zayn, no!” Liam cried out, and tried to grab his arm, but Zayn ignored him and shook off Liam’s hand.

He turned around and threw his arms out wide, standing in front of the wolf pack, who hadn't moved from the edge of the clearing.

“Don’t harm them, I know them.” Zayn started to cry. “It’s my family. They’re my family.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone left around here who has waited for this last chapter, thank you for your patience. 2020 has been a year, I don't even need to say it. Here's the last chapter - and once again - anyone who has left a kudos, comment, or come into my inbox on tumblr and mentioned this story - my deepest appreciation! <333 You keep me going more than you know. 
> 
> Note: I used the village name in a past chapter, but didn't explain the meaning behind it. The name of their village - Atelihai, pronounced ahh-tee-lee-hi, is the Inuktitut word for "hello" or "welcome."

Liam stared in shock at Zayn, standing in front of the three wolves, arms thrown out wide. The clearing was silent with tension, the standoff stark - the wolves, Zayn guarding them, Liam's arm outstretched, and the rest of the rescue party behind him, weapons at the ready. 

“Don’t harm them, I know them.” Zayn started to cry. “It’s my family. They’re my family."

Liam looked into Zayn’s wide eyes and then at the wolves, who curiously hadn’t moved, and he didn’t hesitate any more.

“Everyone, put down your weapons. Now!” He waved his arm behind him, gesturing to the ground, and Segar, Greg, and the rest of the boys lowered their various spears and arrows. 

Niall suddenly let out a strangled noise. “Uh, to your right everyone.”

Two more wolves, larger in stature than the first three, another grey wolf and the other a mixture of brown and cream-colored fur, had stepped into the clearing from the woods and slowly padded over to stand next to the first three wolves, their large paws quiet in the deep snow. 

They stood now, all in a row, proud and fierce, and Liam felt a shiver run down his back and he looked at Zayn. HIS Zayn. His face tear-streaked but his jaw set, standing in front of the wolf pack, dark eyes fierce. He had never looked more beautiful, Liam thought. 

Liam slowly stepped forward, hands raised up. “Zayn, are you sure?”

Zayn nodded, wiped his eyes with his gloved hand, then turned and sank to his knees. The wolves approached him slowly. The large grey wolf sniffed his out-stretched hand and softly yipped, and then, to Liam’s astonishment, all five wolves suddenly wagged their tails and climbed all over Zayn, and he was laughing and crying and kept saying, “Mother, father, Safaa, Doniya, Waliyha!” over and over again. 

Liam turned around and shooed the rescue party back towards the little log cabin to give the reunited family a semblance of privacy. He couldn’t stop smiling - Zayn had found his family. At long last. He couldn’t imagine being apart from his family and not knowing whether they were alive or not. Yes they were still wolves, but the first part of the journey was over. Liam tried not to clench his fists in his gloves - the next part, finding and defeating Adam, was the part of the quest that scared him.

Some minutes later, when Zayn’s crying and the joyful yips from the wolves had quieted down, Liam approached the Malik family. 

“Hello,” he said softly, feeling nervous, even though he had spent the last four years talking to a wolf himself. “I’m Liam - it’s so nice to finally meet Zayn’s family.”

Zayn looked up from where he sat on the ground. His eyes were wet and his smile was the widest Liam had seen it and he felt his stomach clench - a wave of affection for Zayn so strong it almost caused him to step back washed over him. 

“Leeyum,” he chuckled. “I already told them about you and your family and the village and how everyone helped take care of me over the years." 

The wolves walked over to Liam, and one by one, they bowed their heads briefly. 

He slowly bowed his head back, then looked up. 

Zayn smiled. “Liam, please meet my family. These are my sisters - the white one is Safaa, the smaller grey one is Doniya, Waliyha is brown.” He paused. “And these are my parents - my mother -” he gestured to the larger grey wolf, then to the brown and cream wolf, the largest of the five - "and this is my father. The king and queen and the royal princesses."

Liam remembered they were royalty, and he was a mere hunter from a small village. Somehow, even in wolf form, much like Zayn had been, they were magnificent. 

He bowed his head one last time. “The pleasure is all mine, your highnesses.” He decided there was no time to waste. Now that Zayn was reunited with his family, he wanted to see them back in their proper human form with utmost haste. 

“Do they know where Adam is? Are we close to the castle?”

Zayn turned to his family. “Are we far from the castle?”

The grey wolf, the Queen, shook her head.

“Is Adam at the castle - the one with blue hair?”

All the wolves growled, low and menacing, and their hackles raised. Liam shivered and took that as affirmation.

“Alright, alright.” Zayn reached out and hugged the Queen, arms thrown around the thick fur on her neck. He turned to Liam. “Is everyone ready?”

Liam grimly nodded and gripped the spear strapped to his back. He turned to the rescue party. It had started snowing again, and the group stood in the clearing, soft flakes falling on their warm travel clothes and various weapons. “Ready?”

They all nodded, faces equally grim. It was time.

After a short walk, the group emerged from the woods to look upon the Malik kingdom.

Liam had only seen a castle in pictures and heard about them from travelers, he had never seen one in real life, and the gray stone structure in front of him, with its ramparts and turrets and towers and battlements took his breath away. Zayn told him it was small for a castle, but Liam still found it impressive. The entire castle and the small village nestled right up to it was surrounded by a high stone wall, and the entire scene did looked like a picture; the castle and village and guard wall were covered in snow, softening all the stone. 

The wolves had spent the trek surrounding Zayn, and Liam was amused to see the three sisters pushing against each other to fight to walk next to him until one of their parents yipped at them and they calmed down. Occasionally one of the wolves would trot to another person of the group, give them a sniff and a nudge, seemingly satisfied, and then trot back to be by Zayn's side, never straying far.

The large double gates in the front of the stone wall around the kingdom were closed, Liam noted, the closer they approached.

Zayn caught up with Liam and put his hand on his shoulder. "Those gates can be locked from the inside - the gates themselves are wood, but behind them is a series of interlocking metal bars. Almost impossible to get through. 'm not sure how we're gonna be able to break in-"

Before Liam even knew what had happened, he was surrounded by a gust of snow and then his back hit the ground.

“What the -” he started - 

“Liam look out!” Zayn’s voice was muffled.

Liam’s ears rang and he tried to gather his wits, when a booming voice cut through the snow flurry. 

“Liam Payne. You took the life of my sister, and now you dare disturb me while I grieve in my own kingdom -”

The air was filled with howls, and Liam struggled to sit up, but the gusts of snow pushed him back down.

“Your kingdom?” Zayn yelled from somewhere to Liam’s left. “You mean the kingdom you stole from my family after your horrible mother turned us into wolves!”

“Do. Not. Speak of my mother you wretched mutt!”

Liam finally sat up, only to be met with the terrifying vision of Adam, blue hair standing on end and blue light streaming from his hands - his eyes were wide and glowing blue, and snow swirled all around him. 

He turned around, seeing Segar and Greg and the boys and the Malik family struggling to their feet; they had also been thrown to the ground in Adam’s angry blast of snow and blue magic. 

Liam frantically looked around for Zayn, only to see him suspended in mid-air, coils of blue electric light binding him while he hung upside down. Liam’s stomach dropped. Not again. 

Before he could move, Adam shouted - the words were nonsensical and Liam didn’t understand but he had a horrible feeling -

With an ear shattering crack, Liam watched in horror as Zayn twisted in mid-air, mouth open in a silent scream, as every bone in his body twisted and re-formed until he was a white wolf, yet again. The blue light around him disappeared and he fell to the ground in a heap. 

“No!” Liam screamed, grabbing the spear strapped to his back. He took a step forward and threw as hard as he could, aiming for Adam’s heart, just as he had aimed for Adrianna’s heart. He knew he couldn’t get close to Adam without feeling the wrath of his power, so he hoped the spear would find it’s mark. 

“I don’t think so - “ Adam stopped the spear before it could find its target. “You do not deserve a swift death after what you did to my sister.” His hands were shooting blue streaks and his hair glowed, and Liam felt like he was reliving his worst nightmare. “But it is death you shall receive.” And then he turned the spear around, and the spear, as if possessed, came hurtling back towards Liam. 

Before he could jump aside or even move, a streak of white flew by, grabbing the spear out of the air and out of its deadly path. It was Zayn, back in wolf form, holding the spear in his mouth, sharp teeth gleaming.

“Zayn!” Liam almost cried in relief, both from the near miss and for seeing Zayn up and moving. 

“I don’t think so!” Adam bellowed and the snow swirled harder - suddenly, from all sides he had the Maliks growling and snapping and running at him. He tried to push them back, one by one, but there were too many wolves for him, and he was distracted. Liam saw another spear fly through the air, but this one landed true, piercing Adam’s heart while he was distracted by the onslaught of the wolves. 

It was Segar that had thrown the spear. “Take that, you blue bastard!” Segar yelled, as the earth started shaking and Adam’s glowing blue form seemed to freeze for a moment as the Maliks started backing away from him, before his form burst, sending tiny blue icicles raining down on everyone. 

Before Liam could be disgusted by being covered in what were essentially Adam’s remains, the air was rendered by horrible cracking noises - a moment later it was quiet, and the the snow and ice had settled down. Suddenly there were six people stark naked, passed out in the snow. 

He ran over to Zayn’s form, taking off his coat and covering him up. Zayn was already blinking his eyes. 

Liam saw the rest of the rescue party also removing their coats and covering the Maliks - they weren’t as quick to re-awaken as Zayn was, probably, Liam thought, since he had just been transformed and been through this before.

“You alright?” Liam asked, wrapping Zayn up and helping to his feet. 

Zayn looked dazed, but he blinked slowly and turned to Liam. This time his voice wasn’t horse. “Is it over?” 

Liam smiled. “Yes, it’s over.”

“Hey, Zayn!” Segar walked over, carrying the king wrapped in his winter coat. The kings’ eyes were still closed. “We even now, yeah? You saved me, I saved you. Debt repaid.”

Zayn smiled, tired but brilliant. “Well, you saved my entire family, not just me, so now I owe you quite a bit I think.”

Segar just shook his head and grinned. “Let’s get everyone inside before we all freeze.”

Harry was walking over, carrying one of the princesses wrapped in his coat, when he called out. “Hey, the gates!”

Liam turned to see the large double wooden gates in the wall around the kingdom were opening up - slowly, and then with gathering speed, he watched as the villagers poured out of the gates, taking in the scene of strangers carrying an unconscious royal family.

“Is the curse over? Have the Maliks returned to their kingdom?” One villager stepped forward, looking apprehensive. 

Zayn straightened up, lifting his chin, looking like the embodiment of a prince, despite the fact that he was wearing nothing but a slightly oversized winter coat. Liam couldn't help but admire him. 

His voice shook, but he addressed the crowd of villagers that had gathered outside the gates.

“I am Prince Zayn, and even though it has been many years, my family and I have returned to rightfully take back the kingdom that was ours. Adam and Adrianna have been defeated, and the Maliks are ready to rule, fairly and generously once again.”

It was at that moment that Liam realized that Zayn was a prince, through and through. 

The villagers were quiet for a moment, and then there was a burst of cheers and applause, and chants of “All hail the Maliks” rang through the crowd.

Zayn turned to Liam, looking shy. “Was that speech alright?”

“It was perfect Zayn, perfect,” Liam said honestly, looking in awe at his best friend. 

***Three Months Later***

Liam sat in a chair by the fire, sharpening a spearhead. He was so lost in thought he didn't hear his parents enter the house.

"Liam," his mother's voice sounded excited. "Guess who we saw in the square?" 

Liam shrugged. Ever since they had returned from defeating Adam and restoring the Maliks to their proper form, he had felt listless, despondent, and sad. Three months since their last grand adventure together and he needed to shake himself out of his mood - he knew he was worrying his family and friends - but he couldn't help it. There was a piece of his heart that he had left behind in the Malik kingdom, and he didn't know how to fix it. 

"Liam James." 

He looked up; his mother only reserved that tone and his middle name for when she was fed up with him.

Her hands were on her hips and she was trying to scowl, but then her expression softened. "Darling, I know the past several months have been difficult for you. But - guess who we ran into in the town square?"

Before Liam could respond his father excitedly interrupted - "Zayn!"

Liam felt like he had been doused in cold water. He was suddenly very, very alert. "Zayn? He's here? In the village?" 

"Yes," his parents chorused in unison, smiles wide. 

Liam broke into a smile - it had been months and now Zayn was actually back in Atelihai? 

"Is he coming by the house? How long is he staying? What brings him here?" Liam stood up, spearhead forgotten. 

His mother smiled. "He said he had some business to take care of and he'd be by in a couple hours, he asked if you'd be home and we told him you would."

"Business?" Liam sat back down. Zayn was in the village and Liam wasn't the first person he wanted to see? He tried not to feel hurt.

His emotions must have shown on his face. His father came over and put his hand on his shoulder. "Son, remember - he's a prince. He has his kingdom to think about it - he might be in the village on official business. He will make time for you - you know that, but his kingdom has to come first."

"A prince, of course." Liam picked back up his spearhead, and after his father gave his shoulder a squeeze, he went back to sharpening his spearhead.

Several hours later Liam's spearheads were sharpened to deadly points and he had run out of menial tasks. He was trying, without much luck, to not obsess about Zayn.

When he heard a sharp knock on the door he jumped to his feet and almost ran to the front of the house before he remembered himself. He took a deep breath and opened the door. 

And there he stood - Zayn. 

Liam had never seen him like this before - Zayn wore elegant clothes, his red jacket embroidered in elaborate gold thread designs. He wore a thick wool scarf, even though the winter weather had finally broken and early spring had arrived. His hair had grown longer and curled around his ears. 

Liam had never felt so many conflicting emotions at once. 

"Your highness," he said, bowing low. 

When he stood up, Zayn punched his shoulder. "Ow, Zayn - what was that for?"

"Because you're my best friend and I never want you to bow to me. You idiot." Zayn smiled, and threw his arms around Liam. He stood, embraced in Zayn's arms, and then hugged him tightly back. They stood there for a long moment before pulling apart. Liam's heart raced and he couldn't stop staring at Zayn.

Zayn stopped smiling and looked down at the ground. "Can we go for a walk?"

Liam thought he looked nervous, which in turn made him nervous. "Of course. Where to?"

"Can we walk to the sign?"

Liam nodded. He wanted to spend any time with Zayn that he could, before he had to return to his kingdom. 

As they walked along the road that led out of the village and the welcome sign came into sight, they made awkward small talk. Liam asked about Zayn's sisters and the King and Queen, and how everyone was settling back in, and Zayn asked about the boys and the villagers. The air was lush with the smell of spring - this far north spring was a short, precious thing - everything bloomed quickly and bled into the warm summer months. Liam kept stealing glances at Zayn. If only they could spend all the seasons together, like when Zayn was a wolf. 

They both paused in front of the sign.

Below the village name, Atelihai, was the second sign they had hung all those years ago with the picture of the white wolf Liam had painted.

“Home of Zayn, the friendly wolf." Liam read out loud.

"It's faded." Zayn said as he reached forward and gently traced the painted letters with his fingers. "It's spring. Time to re-paint it."

"No point this year. We're no longer home of a friendly wolf. Or- or you." Liam tried not to choke on the last word, but his emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

"Listen Liam we need to talk -" Zayn started, then paused, fiddling with his scarf. "I wanted to bring you out to the sign, because this is where everything changed. This is where I turned back and you defeated Adrianna. My entire life changed in an instant." 

Liam braced himself for Zayn to tell him they had a great run on friendship and all, but Zayn was a prince and Liam was a hunter and royal duties left little time for - Liam was stuck in his own thoughts and hadn't noticed Zayn had unwrapped his scarf and pulled down the collar of his jacket.

"Zayn is that -" Liam was stunned.

At the base of Zayn's throat was a red tattoo, the same size and done in the same geometric pattern of Liam's wolf tattoo - but instead of a wolf head Zayn had a red lion head.

"For you. Um. It's for you, Liam." Zayn looked at Liam, uncertainty in his dark eyes. "Liam the lion hearted, you know. That's what I was doing the last couple hours - Georges was kind enough to tattoo it for me. I figured, you had the wolf for me, and I wanted to show my love for you with the lion and all..."

He blinked. "When you say, my love for you. You mean, like, best friend love, or do you mean -"

Zayn leaned forward and kissed him, full on the lips, soft and fierce and wonderful all at the same time, leaving no doubt in his mind what kind of love Zayn's lion represented. 

Liam kissed back, and he was less soft than Zayn and more insistent and his hands were in Zayn's hair and he could feel Zayn's cool hands on his cheeks, guiding the kiss, and he wanted to live in that moment forever.

When they finally pulled back, Liam moved his hands to the back of Zayn's neck, playing with the longer pieces of hair. Zayn didn't remove his hands from his cheeks.

"Leeyum." Zayn looked up through his long eyelashes, and he was both dangerous and the most familiar thing all at once. "You have to know - I've loved you a very long time. I loved you when I was still a wolf and couldn't even properly talk to you. I think I loved you when you painted this sign. I just didn't realize it yet." 

"You were my best friend." Liam kissed him again, short and sweet, simply because he could. "And then when you turned back I realized I wanted so much more from you than friendship, but I had no right to ask for anything. You're a prince, and I'm a hunter-"

Zayn kissed him this time. "Liam - come live with me in the castle, yeah? I know it's not fair of me to ask you to leave the village, but I've been away from my family for years and I would give up my crown and come live in the village with you in a heartbeat, but I can't leave my family now that we just reunited-"

"I'll do it," Liam interrupted."I'll come with you back to the kingdom."

Very quietly, Zayn said, "Are you sure?"

Liam had never been more sure of anything. "Will you let my family and friends come visit? Can we make visits back here often?"

Zayn looked indignant. "Yes, yes - anytime they want, anyone from the village can come visit and stay as long as they want. Your parents, the boys - whomever. And of course we will come back here. Everyone you love is here."

"Well, not everyone," Liam smiled. 

Zayn rolled his eyes. "You can't get sappy already."

"I'm Liam the lion hearted. I can be as sappy as I please."

Zayn smirked. "I hereby decree no more sappiness."

"Whatever you say, your highnes." They kissed again, in front of the sign on the side of the road, with the birds of spring chirping madly in the background. 

And they lived happily ever after, as only two people who are truly, deeply in love can.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are life!! :)


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